Folly Journal - Interview with Art Director Dana Turner

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What were you doing when you came up with the idea for Folly?

Like any good writer, our editor in chief Emily Makere Broadmore created what she couldn’t find. A journal that combined the overseas rigor of overseas publications with the kind of stories you want to read at Midnight Espresso after too many shots of tequila. Think of Folly as the lovechild of a Victorian gossip rag and a literary journal.

Where did the name come from?

Folly means a ‘lack of good sense or foolishness’, something costly and ornamental with no practical purpose. We are creating high art, not high brow literature. It’s a beautiful product, full of beautiful fantastic writing. But it is an utter folly.

What was the thought process behind the design of Folly?

We knew we wanted something that looked magaziney, inviting and accessible. It had to be lightish, ornamental and intriguing. It’s 100 pages, but it feels like something you can dip in and out of and take away on holiday to enjoy flicking through on the beach.

What do you look for in a submission, both in the art and writing?

We publish international award winning writing alongside newbies who have never written anything, let alone been published, while chronicling what happened to Guyon Espiner’s underpants twenty years ago.

Last years short story from Berlin based New Zealander George Titheridge had Steve Braunias’ spluttering into his coffee. This year everyone has been intrigued by the pre-social media dating escapades of journalist Emma Gilkison and Guyon Espiner.

A Folly story will surprise you, it will be a bit sexy or provocative. But most importantly it tells the truth and encapsulates New Zealand, and the world, at this exact moment in time.

Tell us about some of your favourite works of art in Folly so far?

We were fortunate last year to launch with Aucklander Laura Williams’ incredible whimsical pictures within the front fold out covers, and this year with the mystical landscapes of Wellingtonian Kerrie Hughes. These are artworks that make you stop and think, and importantly they need to be . Each issue features emerging New Zealand artists. Like such as Britany Walker Smith alongside those who have been creating for longer like Loren Marks and Claudia Kogachi. Issue 002 showcases 16 artists works, the majority of the artists are New Zealand’s. It is hard to narrow a favourite but I take great pleasure building a rapporteur with each artists and learning the backstory behind their work and reason for creating. I fondly remember eating pastry and drinking coffee frequently in Laura Williams studio in Mount Eden! Damien Kurth’s work Tidal, Natasha Wrights work “ cigarettes and black underwear” appears next to the winning story “ A prince of new York”, which is a dark and noir tinged female take on dating in New York. Perfect pairing with her female figures. and Lucas Grogans Medicine cabinet with maroon lipstick is also a fave, which is paired with poetry by Cadence Chung. Emily Broadmore and I saw Grogans work at the Auckland Art Fair in April of this year, the titles of the lotions and potions allow the viewer to gleefully giggle. Interestingly, works shown in issue 002 contain a lot of nudity. There tends to be a lot of nudity and half dressed figures in Folly art. It’s not intentional though!

Tell us about the team and how you read and select submissions for the writing and the art?

It’s a real team effort. Emily Broadmore, Tiana and Ari lead the submission reading and shortlisting, with a team of readers and myself supporting the longlisting. Emily Broadmore and I work on the art selection, which is a huge job as it requires balancing a lot of personalities and gallery needs. We are all corralled by Emily Goldthrope who is our managing editor.

What is the purpose of Folly and who is it aimed at?

Art needs no purpose. We are aimed at anyone who has never heard of Landfall. Or anyone who has ever been rejected by Landfall. We believe even short attention spans deserve quality, entertaining content.

Talk to us about the two issue’s cover art - How did you find it, what did that collaboration look like?

It’s often a little last minute to be honest. We sit down to look at the final art selection and work through which of the provided pieces best suits the tone of the journal. This year Sam Duckor-Jones is on the cover at his pink church Gloria. Initially he was meant to be on the inside flaps.

When Folly launched it was said in The Spinoff that you pissed a few of the literati off. Was that your intention? Did you wake up one morning and think, I’m going to fuck a few geniuses off today?

Sometimes the best way to fill a gap in the lit scene is to create something that makes the existing landscape slightly nervous.

But that article, no. We just woke up and thought - let’s throw a fucking awesome party for the launch. Something where people won’t stand around awkwardly eating canapes. We hadn’t even launched yet and somehow there was this sentiment of who the fuck are these women and how dare they launch a literary journal. Someone even said this to Emily Broadmore. Now we sell more copies of Folly than some of the most prominent literary journals in the United States.

What do you hope the future of Folly looks like?

Supporting more new voices and creating spaces where art and scandal coexist beautifully. And obviously, keeping the spirit of print media alive. It will require a lot of absinthe.

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