Loud Flash. British Punk on Paper
30 Jan - 28 Mar 2010
LOUD FLASH. BRITISH PUNK ON PAPER
30 January – 28 March, 2010
The Mott Collection
MUSAC’s Showcases to Display Loud Flash. British Punk on Paper starting January 30
Title: Loud Flash. British Punk on Paper. The Mott Collection
Curators: Susanna Greeves, Carlos Ordás
Venue: MUSAC Showcase
Project Dates: 30 January – 28 March, 2010
From 30 January, 2010, MUSAC shall exhibit Loud Flash. British Punk on Paper, a survey of the aesthetics and politics of British punk and its legacy to modern culture and society. This exhibition examines the imprint punk has left on the visual language of the larger part of contemporary art and on the anti-elitist and DYI ethos of artists, bloggers and musicians. This threefold exhibition begins in the Showcase Project, where a selection of gig posters, zines, flyers and other objects held in artist and former punk figure Toby Mott’s extensive private collection will be shown. An edition of five plates will also be exhibited: reproductions of some of the posters on show, along with texts written by authorities on the subject. The project will culminate on 27 March in a punk aesthetics seminar in which several experts will analyse punk’s legacies and prevalence in various spheres and disciplines, from art to music and politics.
This exhibition is a compelling portrait of a particular moment in British popular culture, at the bitter end of the post-war period. It tells its story through a unique collection of several hundred posters, flyers and other ephemera assembled by artist and erstwhile punk, Toby Mott. With the passion of a true fan and an artist’s eye for an image, he has gathered the evidence of the short life and premature, messy end of British Punk. There are iconic images by artists such as Jamie Reid and Linder Sterling, as well as flyers, gig posters, and zines, crudely cut and pasted by anonymous hands. A fascinating collection of political material supplies further context of a nation of unrest, torn by extremism, recording attempts by political extremes of both left and right to co-opt the power of youth.
Ephemeral and throwaway as each of these objects were, collected together they tell, in uniquely immediate and visual terms, a part of the history of Britain, the history of ideas, and the history of art. Punk has always exerted a fascination, but perhaps never stronger than at this moment. The legacy of punk has permeated modern culture and society, and its visual vocabulary infuses much contemporary art, while the punk spirit resonates in particular with the anti-elitist, DIY ethos of today’s young, blogging artists and musicians.
This exhibition recalls the anarchic spirit of authenticity and amateurism, the volatile and ambiguous celebration of negativity, creativity, violence and protest that was Punk.
Accompanying the exhibition, MUSAC will put out an edition of 5 plates designed by Scott King reproducing some of the posters exhibited in the showcase. Each will carry a text printed on the back by authors Simon Ford, Susanna Greeves, Caroline Greville-Morris, Toby Mott, Tom Vague and Matthew Worley. The edition will be packaged in a simulated 12” album cover.
30 January – 28 March, 2010
The Mott Collection
MUSAC’s Showcases to Display Loud Flash. British Punk on Paper starting January 30
Title: Loud Flash. British Punk on Paper. The Mott Collection
Curators: Susanna Greeves, Carlos Ordás
Venue: MUSAC Showcase
Project Dates: 30 January – 28 March, 2010
From 30 January, 2010, MUSAC shall exhibit Loud Flash. British Punk on Paper, a survey of the aesthetics and politics of British punk and its legacy to modern culture and society. This exhibition examines the imprint punk has left on the visual language of the larger part of contemporary art and on the anti-elitist and DYI ethos of artists, bloggers and musicians. This threefold exhibition begins in the Showcase Project, where a selection of gig posters, zines, flyers and other objects held in artist and former punk figure Toby Mott’s extensive private collection will be shown. An edition of five plates will also be exhibited: reproductions of some of the posters on show, along with texts written by authorities on the subject. The project will culminate on 27 March in a punk aesthetics seminar in which several experts will analyse punk’s legacies and prevalence in various spheres and disciplines, from art to music and politics.
This exhibition is a compelling portrait of a particular moment in British popular culture, at the bitter end of the post-war period. It tells its story through a unique collection of several hundred posters, flyers and other ephemera assembled by artist and erstwhile punk, Toby Mott. With the passion of a true fan and an artist’s eye for an image, he has gathered the evidence of the short life and premature, messy end of British Punk. There are iconic images by artists such as Jamie Reid and Linder Sterling, as well as flyers, gig posters, and zines, crudely cut and pasted by anonymous hands. A fascinating collection of political material supplies further context of a nation of unrest, torn by extremism, recording attempts by political extremes of both left and right to co-opt the power of youth.
Ephemeral and throwaway as each of these objects were, collected together they tell, in uniquely immediate and visual terms, a part of the history of Britain, the history of ideas, and the history of art. Punk has always exerted a fascination, but perhaps never stronger than at this moment. The legacy of punk has permeated modern culture and society, and its visual vocabulary infuses much contemporary art, while the punk spirit resonates in particular with the anti-elitist, DIY ethos of today’s young, blogging artists and musicians.
This exhibition recalls the anarchic spirit of authenticity and amateurism, the volatile and ambiguous celebration of negativity, creativity, violence and protest that was Punk.
Accompanying the exhibition, MUSAC will put out an edition of 5 plates designed by Scott King reproducing some of the posters exhibited in the showcase. Each will carry a text printed on the back by authors Simon Ford, Susanna Greeves, Caroline Greville-Morris, Toby Mott, Tom Vague and Matthew Worley. The edition will be packaged in a simulated 12” album cover.