A precursor to the hardcore pornography and the radical underground presses that erupted after Stonewall, photographer Bob Mizer's landmark "beefcake" quarterly Physique Pictorial was initially produced under the guise of an art and fitness journal. It is now considered to be one of the first, if not the very first of its kind: a widely distributed magazine that celebrated the male form for its aesthetic pleasures, and whose intended audience was gay men.

Magazine of the international boondocks: In 1978, Bordeaux-based artists Michel Aphesboro and Danielle Colomine embarked on their on-going itinerant project 4 Taxis. Establishing temporary studios in different cities— from Berlin to Los Angeles—they’ve produced a nomadic publication that focuses on distinct places and a wide-ranging world of cultural activities.

In 1976, Paul McCarthy produced 1500 copies of Criss Cross Double Cross, a tabloid-size newsprint publication that regarded the printed page as a performance space. "It was crazy to do it," said McCarthy. Among the contributors to the one-off issue were Bruce Nauman, Nancy Buchanan, and Martha Rosler.

Writer Esther McCoy (1904–89) arrived in Los Angeles in 1932 and reckoned it was the wrong place to be. She stayed, however, and for over fifty years her sharp-eyed writing explored the radical politics, modern architecture, and sidelined literary ambitions of the endlessly compelling city.