Avenu Archive

Contents: About the Collection | About the About Page | Tech

About Avenu

Avenu was first published in 1972, the product of three design students who were disgruntled with the lack of communication within the school and design community. These students, P. Chen, John L. Hurst, and Brian Kuode, established the magazine to fill those gaps, publishing 5 whole issues in its first year as a publication. These issues were what future editor Kirk Ralston would describe as “a bitch sheet… four pages, mimeographed.” Despite being short, these early issues were packed full of recurring columns, opinions, and articles ranging from “About Apples” (the recipe column) to “Architectural Circuitry,” a column by P. Chen on the failures of technological applications in Architecture.

It makes sense that a publication like this would emerge in the early 70’s, which was a huge period of growth for art and architectural publications. The mimeograph made printing more accessible and affordable, and became the favorite printing press of many alternative movements. In architecture, financial instabilities left many architects without proper work, leading many to turn to what is now known as “Paper Architecture.” This more theoretical practice of architecture represented fanciful ideas on architecture, urban design, and product design, which, while never realized, have had a prolonged impact on the practice of architecture today. This period saw the birth of publications like Archigram and October, leaving a permanent mark on Architectural theory and discourse.

In 1973, after suffering some financial issues, the avenu partnered with the local Southwestern Oregon American Institute of Architects chapter ( see Volume 3 Issue 2). The agreement was simple: Avenu would publish four pages of the SWO AIA’s news, meeting minutes, and announcements, and in exchange, the chapter would fund printing the magazine. Even with the four extra pages, this partnership saved SWO AIA, who had been Xerox printing their own newsletter, both money and time.

The publication took on several other roles in its early years. In 1972, it published its first registration issue, which provided guides and class descriptions for students of the School of Architecture. Additionally, in 1973, the journal became “Legitimate” as the school established a 2 course-hour class called “Architectural Publications.” This gave students more time to focus on writing, editing, and formatting the newspaper.

While it saw many issues with staffing and submissions, the avenu saw a steady period of growth over the course of the decade, with the publication peaking at 32 pages under the leadership of editor Barbara Ignatius in 1978. The introduction of paid advertisements contributed to this growth, with advertisements and coupons popping up from local bars, galleries, and art supply stores. The publication varied in length and content significantly for the next few years, .The paper’s partnership with SWO AIA came to a close in 1982, when poor economic conditions left many architects without work, reducing the SWO AIA’s due-paying membership by nearly a third.

The publication stayed relatively stable through the 1980s, but in the 1990s, the paper moved away from it’s monthly publications. Starting in fall 1989, the avenu began publishing on a term by term basis. While the papers stayed relatively the same in length, the extended time allowed for the editorial team to develop more comprehensive themes for the publication, including a well-curated and researched issue on the AIDS epidemic and its impacts on the Arts communities. During the early 90s, the newspaper developed into more of an arts magazine, introducing elements like the full page poster spread featuring student artwork. This thematic shift made the journals eventually transition from a newsprint paper to a smaller print magazine much more smooth. While the shift was significant, it gave graphic editors more freedom to play with the design of both images and text blocks.

The avenu’s last archived publication was in 1998, and while there are some speculation around the journal’s demise, nothing is conclusive. There were some attempts to bring the avenu back in name and spirit, including an insert in the daily emerald and a blog in 2006. Today, students are attempting to revive the publication in its original form, a newspaper. While the University has an impressive collection of currently publishing arts and culture magazines, the space that avenu provided for critical discourse on the arts and art education still needs to be filled. Interested in getting involved? Email the current editors at avenujournal@gmail.com

About the Collection

This site is generated using CollectionBuilder-GH, a project to create a free and simple digital collection using GitHub Pages from:

• a CSV of collection metadata
• a folder of JPG images or PDF documents

The Collection was developed from the Unversity of Oregon’s Special Collections Archive and the College of the Designs Private Archives.

For full details of creating your own collection site, visit CollectionBuilder Documentation!