Date of Award

10-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Art in Interdisciplinary Media Studies

First Advisor

Brandon Daniels

Second Advisor

Stefanie Snider

Third Advisor

Katherine Watson

Abstract

This practice-based project examines how documentary photography and zine-making can document and interpret an independent live-music venue as a site of atmosphere, cultural memory, and community. Focusing on The Sinkhole in St. Louis, Missouri, the inquiry considers what becomes visible when the venue, rather than only the performer, becomes the subject of photographic documentation. Project materials include photographs taken during a single visit on July 11, 2026, observations of the venue, and an interview with owner Matt Stutler, documented through written notes. Scholarship on live-music spaces, cultural memory, photography, and self publishing informs the interpretation of these materials. Analysis occurs through photographic selection, editing, sequencing, and page design, treating publication-making as a method of inquiry rather than solely a means of presentation. The resulting photographic zine, St. Louis Music Vol. 1: The Sinkhole, brings performers, audiences, and venue details into a compact printed account of one evening. The project demonstrates how photographic and editorial decisions can situate performance within its surrounding social and physical environment. Its contribution is a focused, materially grounded interpretation of one venue and event, not a comprehensive history or collectively authored representation of the St. Louis music scene. Because participant perspectives and reader responses were not systematically collected, the project does not establish the publication’s effects on belonging or community memory. Instead, it provides a foundation for future venue-centered issues, broader participation, and continued documentation of local musical life.

Research Highlights

  • The Problem: Conventional live music documentation prioritizes promotional performer photography and ephemeral digital notices, failing to record independent music venues as tangible physical environments, social third spaces, and repositories of local cultural memory.

  • The Method: The researcher implemented a practice-based visual inquiry at The Sinkhole in St. Louis, Missouri, combining available-light digital photography (Canon 6D with 40 mm and 85 mm lenses), on-site spatial observation, an unrecorded background interview with venue owner Matt Stutler, and DIY print layout production using Canva.

  • Quantitative Finding: Fieldwork captured 1 concert event on July 11, 2026, featuring 3 performing bands (Suitor, Front Flip, and Holofoil); photographic culling yielded 85 candidate images; publication layout condensed the documentation into 12 images across an 8-page half-sheet folded mini-zine; and production yielded 150 hand-assembled physical copies (50 full-color and 100 black-and-white) alongside 1 archive USB drive delivered to the venue.

  • Qualitative Finding: Spatial layout, interior decor, and peripheral movement around the stage actively shape audience community formation; sequential juxtaposition of active performances against vacant room details communicates atmospheric continuity; and physical zines provide tactile permanence for independent music subcultures that social media platforms fragment.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

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