''Toby Room'' is a

quarterly A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content (media), content. They are generally financed by advertising, newsagent's shop, ...

arts publication founded in 2001 and a project of ArtRod. Organized as a gallery in print, ''Toby Room'' featured writings, projects, and interviews amongst artists,

filmmakers Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casting ...

, and musicians, alongside contributions by established and emerging writers. A focus of Toby Room was to offer a platform for artists and writers to examine their practice, "talking about the things they know" or were interested in, while working across fields of expertise and documenting the work happening around them.

Interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

by design, Toby Room featured writers such as novelist

Robin Hobb Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden (born March 5, 1952), known by her pen names Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, is an American writer of speculative fiction. As Hobb, she is best known for her fantasy novels set in the ''Realm of the Elderlings'', w ...

and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

commentator and author

Andrei Codrescu Andrei Codrescu (; born December 20, 1946) is a Romanian-born American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and commentator for National Public Radio. He is the winner of the Peabody Award for his film ''Road Scholar'' and the Ovid Prize for ...

, alongside examinations of experimental audio works (such as that of Al Larsen of

Some Velvet Sidewalk Some Velvet Sidewalk was an experimental lo-fi rock band from Olympia, WA on the independent label K Records. History Some Velvet Sidewalk was formed in Eugene, Oregon in 1987 by Al Larsen (vocals/guitar) and Robert Christie (drums). Their first ...

, John Cage,

Reuben Wu Reuben Wu (born 1975) is a British artist, photographer, musician, and industrial designer. He is also known as a keyboardist, songwriter, and producer for the electronic band Ladytron. Biography Reuben Wu was born in Liverpool in 1975, the so ...

, Tracy + the Plastics, or Arrington De Dionyso of

Olympia Experimental Music Festival The Olympia Experimental Music Festival, also known for a time as The Olympia Festival of Experimental Musics,Christopher DelaurentiClassical, Jazz, & Avant: Experimental Music Festival '' The Stranger'', June 26 – July 2, 2003 issue. Accessed ...

), together with that of visual artists and filmmakers such as

Mark Tobey Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 – April 24, 1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophi ...

, Cathy de la Cruz,

Morris Graves Morris Graves (August 28, 1910 – May 5, 2001) was an American painter. He was one of the earliest Modern artists from the Pacific Northwest to achieve national and international acclaim. His style, referred to by some reviewers as Mysticism, ...

Bill Daniel Bill Daniel may refer to: *Bill Daniel (filmmaker) (born 1959), American filmmaker * Bill Daniel (politician) (1915–2006), American politician See also *William Daniel (disambiguation) William Daniel may refer to: * William Daniel (bishop) (die ...

, and Scott Fife. Each issue of ''Toby Room'' featured an

artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

who developed a theme and project in print. Early artists in residence projects included work by Thin Ice (a collaboration between Lisa Darms, Joe DeNardo, Joanne Kim, and Mark Geil), Chauney Peck, and Themba Lewis. Toby Room also included a reoccurring feature examining

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

and

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. ...

called Don't Bite the Pavement, which shared its name with the video and film series also presented by ArtRod. For Toby Room 10, the journal was printed as a catalogue of the first year of programming at the

Tollbooth Gallery The Tollbooth Gallery was a site-specific exhibition space and project of the nonprofit arts organization ArtRod launched in 2003 and located in Tacoma, Washington. The project featured contemporary art on view 24 hours a day and seven days a week ...

. It featured design work by Rachel Carns and interviews with: Denise Baggett (Smith), Michael Lent, Josh MacPhee, Delta Camshaft Collective,

, Wynne Greenwood, Bridget Irish, Fionn Meade and Rob Millis of Climax Golden Twins,

Jared Pappas-Kelley Jared Pappas-Kelley is an American curator, researcher, and visual artist. He studied at The Evergreen State College, Goddard College and the European Graduate School where he served as Graduate Teaching Assistant for both Jean-Luc Nancy and P ...

Vanessa Renwick Vanessa Renwick (born 1961) is an American artist and filmmaker living in Portland, Oregon. Since 1981, she has been working in experimental and documentary forms—writing, producing films, videos, photography, sculpture and installations. In 199 ...

, and Tim Sullivan. ''Toby Room'' was one of four major projects by the organization ArtRod that included the screening series Don't Bite the Pavement and the exhibition spaces Tollbooth Gallery and Critical Line.

References

External links

ArtRod official website

Toby Room Issue 10 (Tollbooth Gallery Catalogue)
Visual arts magazines published in the United States Quarterly magazines published in the United States Contemporary art magazines Magazines established in 2001 Magazines published in Washington (state) {{italic title