To do this, Ohki’s been tapping into his own relationship with the city. Having touched down in New York as a child, he recalls the 1990s as a golden era of culture defined by physical presence and a word-of-mouth who’s who. The now-shuttered XLARGE store, for example, which once sat across from Tompkins Square Park, embodied this formative, albeit fleeting, energy. “For me, those experiences were very special because those places only lasted a short time,” he explains. “There were all these very cool things then — boom — they’re gone. You just had to be there.”
Against the speed of our screen-fed moment, spaces like Blankmag set their own cadence. Nostalgia is a powerful tool, and while the store highlights print’s enduring role in archiving visual matter, it also underscores its integrity as artistic infrastructure; however potent or tactile it is is up to us.
Moving through Blankmag, you’re more than encountering the city’s creative past, but recognizing its intimacy to the present. After happening upon a rare international edition of a fan favorite, you’ll be floored by the creative capacity of the photographer, the writer, the cook just blocks away.
The same holds for its rotating slate of art exhibitions, pop ups and book launches. El Cucuy, a group exhibition and curated book collection by Pedro Duran’s Hasta Siempre Books and CDMX publisher Alien Libros, flanks one side of the store during my visit. Past in-store presentations include Pop Gun’s sensational all-Minion art show, and Apple Stand, Olivia Rose’s display of hand-carved red delicious apples. In the back, an array of Supreme sticker paintings by Greg Simmons, a local painter and skater, are on display and up for grabs.
