NYC- April 16. Last night saw the 30th anniversary gala of eponymous journal BOMB magazine– a cult favorite of artists, writers, film makers and the artistically and socially minded. Started 30 years ago by its founder and editor in chief Betsy Sussler– the journal as she reflected to this author was ” always about documenting discussions and conversations with artists.” Asked if she had ever been tempted in the 30 years to yield to the current hyperbole of tabloid dogma which it seems has become the pervading flavor of media- Ms Sussler’s response was the following: ” One has to be mildly obsessed with what they are doing. And to be honest I am obsessed with the journey of the artist and the writer.”
As Bomb’s editor in chief was reflecting on the journal’s wonderful ascent as one of the stalwart arbiters of culture, guests began to mill in the cocktail lounge at Capitale where proceedings were set to unfold.
Upon greeting guests during cocktail hour, festivities moved to the dining portion where Ms Sussler promised to make the speeches less than 3 minutes (she kept her promise by the way…). In her speech she was sure to express her joy and pride in what the journal has achieved, the thousands of artists, writers it has featured (when was the last time you saw the current crop of mainstream journals give that type of adulation to taste makers?) and help give a voice to and the fact when BOMB first started in a kitchen the journal went from 12 contributing editors to over 90 contributing editors with an annual subscription of 60 000 readers.
