Essay

How has punk graphics become more acceptable in todays society in comparison to how it was seen in

the 70’s and 80’s

Throughout this essay I will be explaining the origin of punk graphics and how it was seen in society at the time of its arrival, in compression to how it is seen in todays society. I will also be looking at the origin of some of the symbols often used in punk graphics such as the peace symbol and also punk music and fashion along with where the rebellion originated from, looking at the links between different aspects of the movement and how it could have inspired the graphics that punk artists of the time often created. The punk movement was at its peak from around 1971 – 1984, and is most remembered in today’s society for its attitude towards its country and government and its distinctive styles of clothing, during this period. The punk movement began in America, after a number of new alternative music groups began such as the Ramones, Blondie and Jonny Thunders, this then spread into the UK where there was already an anarchist feel as there was a building rebellion against the government when unemployment rates were at an all time high and the economy was in a poor state, the youths had strong opinions and a lot of free time. All of the punk rock music groups that were formed, all had an anarchist style to their music as it was against the standard rules of music, many of the groups had little talent but used this to create the angry and rebellious music, because of the music style the album covers were also often made to create a point of rebellion, and so a lot of new artists begun to use anarchist’s style work. One example of this is Jamie Reid who did a lot of graphic design for the Sex Pistols. During this time period the work was seen as disrespectful as the images often were against British symbols such as the union jack and the queen.

The CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) were also another

contribution to the punk movement, as the group protested to the government over a nuclear missile that was held in the country, the group was formed in 1957 and is seen as the beginning of the peace movement in the UK. The Logo on the left was the

CND symbol (designed by Gerald Holtom 1958) but it is now the universal

peace symbol, which is used worldwide.

The CND are often seen as the beginning of anarchy, as they were fighting for something that they believed in, which later evolved into the punk movement, with their own breed of music, artwork, fashion and political opinions

Above are some examples of Jamie Reid’s work where he often shows images of defacing the queen; these images were used for the sex pistols in the 80’s. However since the 80’s, the punk style has begun to return in galleries such as the Hayward gallery in Southbank. Jamie Reid uses collage as the main technique used in his work, similar to many other punk graphics artists of the time. Jamie Reid’s work was successful and popular at the time because of the shock that arose after he used defaced images of the queen in a number of his pieces and the spark of rebellion that he continued into that art world at the time. He was also successful as he used his work in promotions for the popular punk rock group “The Sex Pistols” who were a strong symbol of anarchy at the time period due to their rebellious attitude within their lyrics and how the members played their instruments in a rough and hazy way, varying themselves from “Typical musicians”.

Currently the Hayward gallery in Southbank (London) has an exhibition titled “SOMEDAY ALL THE ADULTS WILL DIE!” which is displaying punk graphics from 1971-1984 (bellow are examples from the exhibition). All the work seen in the exhibition shows their own style of DIY, using newspapers, magazine, steel

stencils, pins, badges and a wide variety of typography to create the messy anarchist style of graphics. Although there is a wide collection of art works from this time period, there is little variation in the style and look of the exhibit, in that many pieces use a similar typography and

most pieces use either prints or collage, some use a mix of both but this as far as most of the variation in the pieces used. This is because at the time with the poor state of the economy, many artists often had little money and few recourses other than local newspapers, scrap metal and occasionally access to a print machine, and so there was little other that artists of this time period could use for their art work. However the variation could also be connected to the idea behind punk, in that it was a rebellious culture pushing away from the mainstream culture it grew around, leading to the unconventional way of creating their work and also because they did not have to reproduce their work in the mass amounts that are used today.

The punk art style is often made to look quite messy, and if often made in collage style, which matches the clothing style of punks, as they often were found wearing denim jackets and jeans with various patches, spikes and studs that they created themselves. The art work often represents the movement, as collaging is often a cheap artistic option, taking small

things that can often be found around a house or on the streets and piecing them together in a rough, hand rendered way to make something creative and unique, this often allowed the punks and anarchists to express their anger and rebellion through art, expressing the anger felt towards the government with the poor economy and unemployment

rates. Because I am basing my editorial around skateboarding, I could use some ideas, techniques and styles that I have researched to complete this essay in my editorial. Skateboarding could be closely linked to punks, as during the time period of punks, skateboarding was a popular hobby due to the fact that they were easily hand crafted and also quite cheap to buy, it was and still is an inexpensive hobby that pushes against mainstream standards even in todays society, and the art work shown from skateboarders and on their skateboards is often in a graffiti style which is often hand crafted with an rebellious cause and meaning, which could easily be compared to the similar style of punk art work. Creating this connection could also allow me to create a flow throughout different areas of my coursework. This style of work is also quite cheap and easy to recreate, and uses techniques that are completed outside of the computer, allowing me to create a variation within my work and allows me to experiment more within my work.

Although the movement began 30 years ago, punk is still seen alive in some members of society today; the images surrounding this paragraph are

recent photos of punks that I have taken myself within the last year, however after research, the views on punks has not changed over the years, the only difference is that the movement has become more of a fashion than a rebellion, however to other members of the public, the punk culture is still seen as an intimidating menace to the public for their apparent attitude and physical appearance. “For a movement that has died more than Super Mario, punk rock is still managing to cause trouble for authority figures” - William Kherbek (Port Magazine)

This also applies to the punk graphics, they are still seen the same way in todays society as they were 30 years ago, however today there is much less cause and meaning in the work, punk has become a fashion rather than a movement. This could be because youths often like the idea of being different and unique, and enjoy the idea of anarchy and rebellion, or because they enjoy the style of movement, or just because they like the clothing style that grew from the culture. The change in views of the art work is also seen differently, there is little examples of punk graphics in the present day and so I am unable to give any examples of work, but the views today compared to modern work of other styles leads people to often think of punk graphics as simple work that could easily be recreated with little skill using technology today, however at the time, many of the pieces of work created were seen as artistic and skillful due to the lack of technology and money in the art work during this time period. And so, both the punk movement and the art found within it have had little development over the years from when it originated, however the views and opinions from both punks and society around them have developed and changed as time passed, from rebellious anarchists working with the resources they had access to, to a fashion statement, although the trend is still seen as an intimidating nuisance to many people who surround the people who follow this fad. Bibliography http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/aug/29/loud-flash-punk-posters-fanzines?INTCMP=SRCH http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/mar/23/best-british-design?INTCMP=SRCH

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/gallery/2012/sep/13/punk-graphics-london-hayward-gallery-in-pictures http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/jun/03/art1?INTCMP=SRCH http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19555201 http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/sep/14/where-punk-begin-cinema-peru http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock http://punkmusic.about.com/od/punk101/a/punkhistory2.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_for_Nuclear_Disarmament