Avaunt is a Middle English word derived from the French en avant!, and the magazine is dedicated to “adventure, in the broadest sense of the word.” In the area of innovation, exploration, sport, and the arts, on earth as well as under water and in the air, the magazine paints a picture in rich colors of risky enterprises, challenges, perils, struggle and overcoming.
Over 200 pages thick, one is immediately struck by this magnificent magazine’s lush illustrations and beautiful layout. Very readable and accessible, it includes stunning photos by such artists as Edward Burtynsky, David Chancellor, Simon Norfolk, Irving Penn, to name a few, and gives them ample space and exceptional quality reproduction. The writers include Will Self, Ian Sinclair, Geoff Dyer, and many others.
In a word, to hold an issue of Avaunt in your hands can only be described as luxurious. The magazine takes us from an old pirate’s pursuit of revenge across the Northern United States in the early 18th century (a true story which inspired the film The Revenant) to a breathtaking encounter in the deep blue ocean between a diver and giant sperm whales which emit sonar clicks to communicate in subtler and more complex ways than the human species. Then it unfolds a portfolio of the astronaut Terry Virts from the International Space Station, and analyzes technical advances in various areas. Avaunt outdistances older travel and nature magazines which shroud each of their stories in a veil of mystery and exclusivity, thanks to a sophisticated writing style and rich iconography. The elitism of tourism magazines often relies on equating value with price and on the inaccessibility of the destinations they present to mere mortals. There is nothing of the sort in Avaunt: travel and discovery are open to all and one’s enthusiasm is the only admission requirement.
Adopting the saying that the past is a foreign country, the magazine explores the past as well as the future, high altitudes and deep chasms, with the same contagious jubilation. Superb in quality, its articles are perfectly tailored in length: those placed at the beginning of the issue are designed for quick reading and are generally limited to a single page or a double page spread, including illustrations. Longer articles, grouped together at the end of the issue, extend over some eight pages, (oversize) illustrations included. One gets the impression that the editors of Avaunt couldn’t imagine sharing the content without bringing the quality of the presentation to the same level, and that they were able to work on a very primitive feeling of amazement and wonder as the engine of their magazine, even while documenting their articles at the highest level of expertise. There is no unnecessary or overinflated element. Even while Avaunt is a “general adventure magazine,” more visual than contemplative, it elicits an enthusiastic response and readers are eager to follow its many paths. The only downside, if one had to find something, is a certain lack of an overarching sense of a team across the multiple contributions, which is often the spinal column in the best of publications; but this is something that will hopefully emerge over time.
This is one of the most gorgeous magazines to appear in a long while, and we wish it a long life and resounding success.
227 pages.
£10 – https://avauntmagazine.com/
