WEEKLY JOURNAL 8: : November 19
Postmodernism in Design 1970’s - 1980’s and Beyond
Post-modern Styles
Post-modern consumption and conservatism
Critical theory and post-modern sensibility
Postmodernism and activism
Changes in the profession
In Module 9, ‘Postmodernism in Design 1970’s - 1980’s and Beyond’, we experienced even more extreme rebellion, almost to the level of anarchy. The artists are bored with ‘reductive modernism’, they get playful in an ‘in your face’ way. The electronic age pretty much threw the field wide open, there became so many new roles to create, fill and so many new toys to play with.This weeks examples are of, “Kat Caverly, a New York photographer (that started out in Chicagoan in the mid 70’s) and designer, who’s work I found very interesting while viewing postmodernism art examples: http://www.katcaverly.com/ and http://www.katcaverly.com/mt-static/archives/biography/*2, all the rest are collections from various artists of the ever famous ‘La Mere Vipere’ (fist punk rock club in Chicago, 1977). If you are viewing this document online please find the missing images through links are provided in the bibliography.)
Postmodernism in Design 1970’s - 1980’s and Beyond
Wikipedia defines post-modern styles as: ‘Post-modern art is a term used to describe art which is thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism, or to have emerged or developed in its aftermath. In general movements such as Intermedia, Installation art, Conceptual Art and Multimedia, particularly involving video are described as post-modern. The traits associated with the use of the term post-modern in art include bricolage, use of words prominently as the central artistic element, collage, simplification, appropriation, depiction of consumer or popular culture and Performance art.’
Except for the digital aspect, Art, Architecture and design of this period’s beginnings can be summed up with, “rolling with a free-form, anything-goes style.” An article in the Chicago Reader, talks about punk music as it related to the Chicago scene:. “It’s hard to generalize about any punk community, and there’s not much you can safely say about Chicago’s except that the musicians were more likely to be unpretentious, working-class people—and like their LA cousins, Chicago scenesters had a less intellectualized idea of what it meant to be punk, rolling with a free-form, anything-goes party style.” * 4
There were several areas of the post-modern period that I really identified with, related to, in actual and metaphoric ways. Yes, being old gives me experience, or should I say history... Having been in printing since high school, more on than off, I went through most of the fazes of the big change in design/printing, starting with early paste-up, camera work, film stripping and platemaking, to when publishing software(s) were first introduced. WOW! I bought a Macintosh immediately and learned every software there was on that platform. The early digital artist that was mentioned in class, Anne ------, immediately reminded me of the women’s’ movement that completely changed my world and I didn’t have anything to do with creating it. There are pros and cons to everything and the idea that with the one creation of her naked, which was completely backwards to that movement, changed into the interpretation of her ‘being in her power’ was fabulous. To me, one of the main cons of the women’s movement is that in some respects, our power was taken away.
I’m jumping around a bit and unfortunately there aren’t enough electronic pages to cover this period, for me, so my main emphasis will focus on ‘Punk’.
Punk 1970’s
A few words of my own about the Pop and Protest of the 1960’s and 1950’s, particularly punk and new wave. Punk represents rebellion, expression of anger (which is not allowed, by popular request, but oh yeah were not into ‘popular’), daring, edgey, which eventually becomes acceptable and popular by adaptation and embrace of corporate advertising. The way I relate to this movement is by my own personal experience in music, at that time. The following should be read as a metaphor to the ‘Pop and Protest’ movement in graphic design history, expressed in terms of music.
People are always surprised to know that I like Iggy Pop’s music. It’s complicated to explain, but very important to me. Even as I have spent quite a lot of time writing the following, I still feel I could go on. His music does not define me any more than Gordon Lightfoot does, being from Chicago I was very blessed to have broad eclectic music coming from the radio throughout most of my life.
When this period came up in our studies, I could have said any number of the things I have written, here, but nothing would be ‘all inclusive’. And maybe, there is no way to explain it, maybe you have to experience it for yourself. Having seen him three times since the early 90’s, with 3 different people that all agree he puts on a very enjoyable show, to say the least.
Why I like Iggy Pop... It’s certainly not his ideology, roughness, or looks. The Punk movement came at a time, when in the 70’s, Chicago radio was only playing Lynard Skynard, Bob Seeger, repeats of ‘rock and roll’ heard millions of times and the only thing new on the music scene, as per Chicago radio was disco. The choices were at best boring and horrible technotronic with seemingly the same beat, over and over and over, plus the whole image of disco including the clothes was just hideous, fake and phony.
One weekend in the summer of 1977, I was asked to entertain some visitors from the UK, the setting was Chicago. I asked a friend and a local where I could take them. That particular night was the annual Venetian Parade, which is a lighted boat parade that takes place on Lake Michigan, a big Chicago event. (http://www.chicagoyachtingassociation.org/events/venetian.html),
My friends’ suggestion was to take the Brits to the parade followed by going to a club called ‘La Mere Vipere’. Well, I had ‘no clue’ what I was getting into that night, starting off with the fact that, the main floor of three, was a gay/bisexual bar. This was my first real exposure to this scene and I immediately felt very excited to be among people who dared to be themselves. We danced and had fun for quite a while with no repercussions for being straight, before we found the downstairs club. It was very dark, strobe lit, with an energy coming from the music that couldn’t be ignored, something that had been missing at that lull in musical time that I’ve already explained. Music, being my passion, the heartbeat of life, was just waiting to be re-discovered. We danced for hours, into the wee hours of the dawn, 3-4 in the morning. There was no way to have a conversation in the place as music was at high volume, bass pumping throughout every muscle in your body, but on the way out I said, “What have I been listening to? I’ve never heard this before…” The Brits acted surprised and astonished, “Huh?, It’s punk, it’s been around for a years, all over the UK.”
While my generation was not at the time of the hippies, or the punks, kind of in the middle somewhere, I’ve admired the energy of both, but not so much the ‘rock and roll’ of my generation time. I think, because it wasn’t original rock and roll and it was loosing steam, then disco was replacing everything, it was almost thrust on us. All clubs that were formerly live bands with real instruments were replaced by DJ’s playing this commercial techno, plastic-ness, which I found revolting and insulting. I never actually joined the punk scene, but alternative, a milder version of punk was just starting to arrive on the scene, Roxy Music, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, etc. and it was very exciting. I started hearing one song in the mix “I’m Bored’ by Iggy Pop amongst the play list next to Talking Heads, Pretenders, etc.. It wasn’t till sometime in the 80’s, that I got it about Iggy Pop, now the radio was playing more and more of him, around the time he made a comeback, being produced by David Bowie. These songs were well written with that familiar energy that grabbed me back at that club in 1977, plus I’d keep hearing his voice in various movies/songs and it was a GOOD quality voice. I’d hear something and then find out it was Iggy, again and again. My opinion was ‘wow’, maybe there is something here, something that cannot be discounted, and there was. I remember at this time he was coming to Chicago and playing the Aragon Ballroom with the Ramones, I remember thinking I’d like to go, but felt like I’d need a football outfit, including helmet to survive it, which wasn’t going to happen. Then, the next time he came to town, early 90’s and after hearing more and more quality of his voice, songs of his, I went to the show. WOW, WOW, WOW! To this date and I’ve seen well over a 100 concerts. ‘That show’ marks the ‘best show’, ever, for me. The overall energy, that is buried in my 1977 memories, the charisma of this very courageous, vulnerable man that is willing to lay it all out there, literally, the way every muscle in his body moves in all different directions though out every song in the show… He captures your attention, holds it and gives you all he’s got, no holes barred, it is truly fascinating.
I guess my interest in Iggy primarily and when I was buying his albums/cds was at his most commercial time being produced mostly by David Bowie and up to about 2002. The CDs, to me, started to have too much of a negative connotation and just didn’t grab my interest anymore, but like others in music, he has given music, especially the 80’s a base for what followed in the alternative, industrial mainstream which later progressed to popular. For other genres you have Elvis, the Beatles, Bob Dylan. Like them or not, they were the innovators to all that followed in their genre, just as Iggy Pop and the innovative graphic design and artists of this time.
Conclusion
Like I said in the beginning, , we experienced even MORE extreme rebellion, almost or should I say to the level of anarchy. The artists aren’t bored with ‘reductive modernism’, anymore they are free in an ‘in your face’ way. The electronic age was and is a wild ride, which in and of itself graphic design created my new professions and many cool consumer cultures. Finally, this weeks examples are of, “Kat Caverly, a New York photographer (that started out in Chicagoan in the mid 70’s) and designer, who’s work I found very interesting while viewing postmodernism art examples: http://www.katcaverly.com/ and http://www.katcaverly.com/mt-static/archives/biography/*2, all the rest are collections from various artists of the ever famous ‘La Mere Vipere’ (fist punk rock club in Chicago, 1977). If you are viewing this document online please find the missing images through links are provided in the bibliography.)
Bibliography
All information, most everything written unless marked otherwise is all credited to the authors of ‘Graphic Design History, A Critical Guide’ and Professor Kent Manske.
*2 Kat Caverly, Photographer, Artist, Designer
http://www.katcaverly.com/mt-static/archives/biography/ and http://www.katcaverly.com/
*3 La Mere Vipere, Chicago’s first punk rock club, 1977.
MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/anarchyatlamerevipere
*4 The Chicago Reader, Past Music Columns, Rights of the Accused at the Cubby Bear, 1982, Mary-Colette Illarde, Chicago. Punk, Vol. 1. Miss out on the birth of the local scene? There’s a new documentary full of baby pictures. By Miles Raymer
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/sharpdarts/071122/
There were several areas of the post-modern period that I really identified with, related to, in actual and metaphoric ways. Yes, being old gives me experience, or should I say history... Having been in printing since high school, more on than off, I went through most of the fazes of the big change in design/printing, starting with early paste-up, camera work, film stripping and platemaking, to when publishing software(s) were first introduced. WOW! I bought a Macintosh immediately and learned every software there was on that platform. The early digital artist that was mentioned in class, Anne ------, immediately reminded me of the women’s’ movement that completely changed my world and I didn’t have anything to do with creating it. There are pros and cons to everything and the idea that with the one creation of her naked, which was completely backwards to that movement, changed into the interpretation of her ‘being in her power’ was fabulous. To me, one of the main cons of the women’s movement is that in some respects, our power was taken away.
I’m jumping around a bit and unfortunately there aren’t enough electronic pages to cover this period, for me, so my main emphasis will focus on ‘Punk’.
Punk 1970’s
A few words of my own about the Pop and Protest of the 1960’s and 1950’s, particularly punk and new wave. Punk represents rebellion, expression of anger (which is not allowed, by popular request, but oh yeah were not into ‘popular’), daring, edgey, which eventually becomes acceptable and popular by adaptation and embrace of corporate advertising. The way I relate to this movement is by my own personal experience in music, at that time. The following should be read as a metaphor to the ‘Pop and Protest’ movement in graphic design history, expressed in terms of music.
People are always surprised to know that I like Iggy Pop’s music. It’s complicated to explain, but very important to me. Even as I have spent quite a lot of time writing the following, I still feel I could go on. His music does not define me any more than Gordon Lightfoot does, being from Chicago I was very blessed to have broad eclectic music coming from the radio throughout most of my life.
When this period came up in our studies, I could have said any number of the things I have written, here, but nothing would be ‘all inclusive’. And maybe, there is no way to explain it, maybe you have to experience it for yourself. Having seen him three times since the early 90’s, with 3 different people that all agree he puts on a very enjoyable show, to say the least.
Why I like Iggy Pop... It’s certainly not his ideology, roughness, or looks. The Punk movement came at a time, when in the 70’s, Chicago radio was only playing Lynard Skynard, Bob Seeger, repeats of ‘rock and roll’ heard millions of times and the only thing new on the music scene, as per Chicago radio was disco. The choices were at best boring and horrible technotronic with seemingly the same beat, over and over and over, plus the whole image of disco including the clothes was just hideous, fake and phony.
One weekend in the summer of 1977, I was asked to entertain some visitors from the UK, the setting was Chicago. I asked a friend and a local where I could take them. That particular night was the annual Venetian Parade, which is a lighted boat parade that takes place on Lake Michigan, a big Chicago event. (http://www.chicagoyachtingassociation.org/events/venetian.html),
My friends’ suggestion was to take the Brits to the parade followed by going to a club called ‘La Mere Vipere’. Well, I had ‘no clue’ what I was getting into that night, starting off with the fact that, the main floor of three, was a gay/bisexual bar. This was my first real exposure to this scene and I immediately felt very excited to be among people who dared to be themselves. We danced and had fun for quite a while with no repercussions for being straight, before we found the downstairs club. It was very dark, strobe lit, with an energy coming from the music that couldn’t be ignored, something that had been missing at that lull in musical time that I’ve already explained. Music, being my passion, the heartbeat of life, was just waiting to be re-discovered. We danced for hours, into the wee hours of the dawn, 3-4 in the morning. There was no way to have a conversation in the place as music was at high volume, bass pumping throughout every muscle in your body, but on the way out I said, “What have I been listening to? I’ve never heard this before…” The Brits acted surprised and astonished, “Huh?, It’s punk, it’s been around for a years, all over the UK.”
While my generation was not at the time of the hippies, or the punks, kind of in the middle somewhere, I’ve admired the energy of both, but not so much the ‘rock and roll’ of my generation time. I think, because it wasn’t original rock and roll and it was loosing steam, then disco was replacing everything, it was almost thrust on us. All clubs that were formerly live bands with real instruments were replaced by DJ’s playing this commercial techno, plastic-ness, which I found revolting and insulting. I never actually joined the punk scene, but alternative, a milder version of punk was just starting to arrive on the scene, Roxy Music, Talking Heads, Elvis Costello, etc. and it was very exciting. I started hearing one song in the mix “I’m Bored’ by Iggy Pop amongst the play list next to Talking Heads, Pretenders, etc.. It wasn’t till sometime in the 80’s, that I got it about Iggy Pop, now the radio was playing more and more of him, around the time he made a comeback, being produced by David Bowie. These songs were well written with that familiar energy that grabbed me back at that club in 1977, plus I’d keep hearing his voice in various movies/songs and it was a GOOD quality voice. I’d hear something and then find out it was Iggy, again and again. My opinion was ‘wow’, maybe there is something here, something that cannot be discounted, and there was. I remember at this time he was coming to Chicago and playing the Aragon Ballroom with the Ramones, I remember thinking I’d like to go, but felt like I’d need a football outfit, including helmet to survive it, which wasn’t going to happen. Then, the next time he came to town, early 90’s and after hearing more and more quality of his voice, songs of his, I went to the show. WOW, WOW, WOW! To this date and I’ve seen well over a 100 concerts. ‘That show’ marks the ‘best show’, ever, for me. The overall energy, that is buried in my 1977 memories, the charisma of this very courageous, vulnerable man that is willing to lay it all out there, literally, the way every muscle in his body moves in all different directions though out every song in the show… He captures your attention, holds it and gives you all he’s got, no holes barred, it is truly fascinating.
I guess my interest in Iggy primarily and when I was buying his albums/cds was at his most commercial time being produced mostly by David Bowie and up to about 2002. The CDs, to me, started to have too much of a negative connotation and just didn’t grab my interest anymore, but like others in music, he has given music, especially the 80’s a base for what followed in the alternative, industrial mainstream which later progressed to popular. For other genres you have Elvis, the Beatles, Bob Dylan. Like them or not, they were the innovators to all that followed in their genre, just as Iggy Pop and the innovative graphic design and artists of this time.
Conclusion
Like I said in the beginning, , we experienced even MORE extreme rebellion, almost or should I say to the level of anarchy. The artists aren’t bored with ‘reductive modernism’, anymore they are free in an ‘in your face’ way. The electronic age was and is a wild ride, which in and of itself graphic design created my new professions and many cool consumer cultures. Finally, this weeks examples are of, “Kat Caverly, a New York photographer (that started out in Chicagoan in the mid 70’s) and designer, who’s work I found very interesting while viewing postmodernism art examples: http://www.katcaverly.com/ and http://www.katcaverly.com/mt-static/archives/biography/*2, all the rest are collections from various artists of the ever famous ‘La Mere Vipere’ (fist punk rock club in Chicago, 1977). If you are viewing this document online please find the missing images through links are provided in the bibliography.)
Bibliography
All information, most everything written unless marked otherwise is all credited to the authors of ‘Graphic Design History, A Critical Guide’ and Professor Kent Manske.
*2 Kat Caverly, Photographer, Artist, Designer
http://www.katcaverly.com/mt-static/archives/biography/ and http://www.katcaverly.com/
*3 La Mere Vipere, Chicago’s first punk rock club, 1977.
MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/anarchyatlamerevipere
*4 The Chicago Reader, Past Music Columns, Rights of the Accused at the Cubby Bear, 1982, Mary-Colette Illarde, Chicago. Punk, Vol. 1. Miss out on the birth of the local scene? There’s a new documentary full of baby pictures. By Miles Raymer
http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/sharpdarts/071122/
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