ML: It s been all me the whole time up until this last issue, which I did about a photographer named

Kathleen Hefty recently sat down with founder and editor of MATTE Magazine, Matthew Leifheit to get a unique perspective on independent publishing and curating. Not only does Leifheit produce each issue of MATTE largely on his own, he is also the photo editor of Vice Magazine and has an active photography practice. Since 2010, MATTE has dedicated each issue to one photographer the current one the magazine s 23rd and largest yet features photographer Rachel Stern . The following is a conversation on MATTE s beginnings, what it means to be an emerging artist, and Leifheit’s exciting upcoming collaborations.
Kathleen (Blonde Art Books): I think that the people that follow Blonde Art Books are really interested in gaining insight into the inner workings of small press publishers as well as individual artists’ and curators’ plus sign practices so thank you for taking the time. Can you tell me a little about MATTE magazine and how it began?
Matthew Leifheit: It started as a print publication it was my college thesis. I went to the Rhode Island School of Design, and I worked with this agency one summer a photo agency in New York and it dealt with photography in a businesslike way, which is what they do. I feel like artists want to work with other artists, and I don t think photography should exactly be sold as a product. I think there should always be something sacred about it.The program was very hands on. And especially now looking at [how] MATTE deals with emerging photography and so does Vice, and I feel like that s like my area. So I pay a lot of attention to the schools. I think if I had gone to SVA or Parsons or something like that I would have come out of it with a much glossier portfolio and a lot more connections plus sign and stuff. But at RISD I learned to make things, which is important to me.
ML: It s been all me the whole time up until this last issue, which I did about a photographer named Rachel Stern. It s the biggest one I ve ever done. It s 50 pages long, which is big for me usually it s like 35 pages and staple-bound. But this one s perfect-bound and bigger. My friend Paul Legault, who s a poet, wrote for it. Still it was all me making the magazine, I think. Usually it s designed by me and this was one was designed by my friend Joseph Kaplan. Also, this guy Cameron helped me produce a video for the issue Rachel, the subject of the issue, was talking about her work. I think it turned out well. [Rachel] s a good friend from school, actually. plus sign So this was her second issue of the magazine. She did one right when we graduated, but I ve always thought it d be cool to circle back to people and do an issue if they ve made new work. I feel like it can be more of a gallery that way, a kind of a roster of artists. But, it s mostly been just me, which I like because you can get things done faster if you re not waiting on other people.
ML: It really varies. Especially plus sign on complicated plus sign [ones] like this issue. Sometimes it s just photos, those ones go really fast, usually when you figure out an edit with a photographer and it s purely visual.
ML: We make an edit together. I m a terrible editor of my own photos I know that. [Laughs]. But some people don t know that. Because when you re really close to something like that and you ve been working on it, it s really hard to be objective about it. And I think that s what I offer in the magazine. Because it doesn t make any money for me or the artist. plus sign It s sold for the cost of printing, so what I can offer is an editor, an objective perspective on someone s work.
ML: It s done on print-on-demand. It s also the only way I can do it, because I ve been doing ten issues a year. I think I m starting to slow down and make them less [often], but more complicated. But there s no way I could put up the money to have 10 issues done offset a year. And it would also slow me down a lot having to fundraise for each issue. So this way, I just make the content and design it and upload it. And if people want to sell it, they can. Printed Matter sells it, PS1 s art book store sells it.
ML: I treat it like a job. And I think it is kind of like my job. I went to art schools and reviewed senior work. They all have portfolio review days and they ve been nice enough plus sign to ask me to come lately. So, I reviewed portfolios plus sign at Parsons and Pratt and SVA and I m doing ICP next week. I go to critiques plus sign and try to make it to people s senior shows. Because I think that s where you really plus sign find things. I think kind of what I m doing is like a crystal ball, you know? Part of it is just, do I love the photos? But also, I want to work with photographers who are committed to doing this for their lives. People that are going to continue to make good stuff throughout their careers. So, I can say, I had it first. [Laughs]. You can evaluate it by: Are they in group shows? Are they trying to show their work? Are they producing new stuff all the time that s different a