Samir Husni, better known as Mr. Magazine, in a recent interview stated that as long as there are people interested in sharing their passion through the magazine, as long as there are ideas and, above all, until someone will make magazines for people people instead of advertisers), there will be magazines.
How much I read the interview, which you can find who, in addition to not being able to share every single step by hand, I could not help but think of magazines like Market Cafe, unique in their kind and guided by a deep personal passion. 

Market Cafe, which we selected for our Secret Mag Club in May, is the only independent magazine dedicated to the world of data visualization, a subject as specific as it is (apparently?) difficult. 
Founded by a duo of Italian information designers based in London, Tiziana Alocci and Piero Zagami, this zine with a small format and an underground soul tells us about the world of data, making it understandable, and beautiful to look at, even for non-professionals. 
Among its pages, printed in two colors and bound to file singer (the fanzinara influence is evident), information designers and artists alternate, to tell us about a different theme for each edition, but always and strictly starting from numbers and infographics.


After talking about humanism, cartography, time, fake news, activism and food (yes, with data we can also talk about food), the seventh issue of Market cafe tells us the data off the screens. 
The number opens with a cover that recalls the famous game in which you have to connect the numbered dots to discover the image that is hidden behind it (if someone with their copy has tried to connect the dots, send us a photo of the result!), to accompany us on an acid green journey into a real and decidedly offline world made up of artistic installations, performances, sculptures and lights that all have the world of data as their common denominator: 
"The data finally moves away from the screens of our devices - write Tiziana and Piero in their editorial - to invade streets, squares, museums and theaters" and magazines, I would add.  


The journey begins with a long and in-depth interview with Rachel Ara, conceptual and computer artist (not by choice), who with her provocative installations explores the relationships between gender issues, technologies and systems of power, reminding us that anything is a data set. 
We then meet Shadi El Hajj who talks to us about crypto-art and philosophy and accompanies us in his evocative realm where ancient myths are converted into visions guided by particles and anthropology merges with technology. 
German artist Daan Roosegaarde creates incredible works with high social impact with light, with which he invites us to reflect on the relationship between people, new technologies and space, while data artist Nathalie Miebacht talks about climate change by translating scientific data on hurricanes , floods and other atmospheric phenomena, in three-dimensional works of art or in musical scores (played live by an orchestra).
Then we find a long conversation with the mathematician, data scientist and inventor Santiago Ortis who tells how looking at data is like taking LSD and seeing the world as it is, without putting labels on things. 
This journey into the physical world of data ends with the work of the artist and programmer Saaskia Freeke who, with her SCROLLLLL installation, reflects on the daily use we make of technology to communicate.

Ultimately, this latest issue of Market Cafe, which you find WHO, is an invitation to leave our comfort zone, turn off smartphones and computers, and try to immerse ourselves in the real world, one thing at a time.

май 29, 2022 — Anna Frabotta

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