THE 1990s AND BEYOND

During the end of the materialistic and greed-ridden 1980's a thriving drug culture reappeared with the return of acid and its namesake dance culture - Acid House music. The 1990’s saw the rise of grunge, “Have a nice day” smiley logos, uninhibited dancing and huge open- air raves which grew in popularity once again. Everything old is new again. The designs, ideals and attitudes of the psychedelic era returned together with flares and lurid flowery patterns.The difference this time is that computers now play a distinct new role in the 1990’s poster creation. Consequently several different styles of posters never before seen were created in the 90’s.

Society is often fickle and ruled by the media in this new technical age. Technical developments such as file sharing and Photoshop have led to a powerful and money-centered industry. These new developments mean fast global communication: news, fad and fashions spread fast and fade just as quickly. It is said that the young have frighteningly short attention spans, forever looking for something new to replace last months overkill trend. As each youth group finds an identity to call their own, someone usually greedily grabs after it, competes for your money and attention and swamp the original ideals to death in the commercialism it intended to fight… a tradition started in the late 1960’s.

Let’s have a look at several different poster fads and styles of the 1990’s

Fantasy computer generated black light posters aimed at the youth market

Fractal Posters A mathematical equation whose sum is created from smaller versions of the same object.

100% Computer Generated Environments

Answer...

Photo Mosaic Poster Thousands of original photographs are selected and mapped into place using a computer generated grid, creating one large photo out of the thousands.

Fueled by a curious mix of psychedelia, pop culture and punk-rock ethos, the roots of the silkscreen rock art movement were laid down in Texas. A thriving local flier and poster scene had borrowed from all that had come before it and was beginning to create something new and vibrant. Throw into the mix access to a local screenprinter, computer text and graphics and a new era for the rock poster was officially born. The realization that a screen, a squegee and a few cans of ink allowed an enterprising artist to create top quality posters in small runs, instantly leveled the playing field and created an entire generation of artist/entrepreneurs.

INFLUENTIAL POSTER DESIGNERS OF THE 1990s to Present * THE COOP * KOZIK *BOB MASSE Drawing upon influences from comic books, tattoos and skilled illustrations these are a few artists who have so far helped define the look of 1990s rock art posters.

Other artists and styles...

Notice the 1960’s and art nouveau influences

1990’s RECAP Technical developments in imagery, design and communication have led to a powerful and money-centered industry. These new developments mean fast global communication: news and fashions spread fast and fade just as quickly. As each youth group finds an identity to call their own, media moguls greedily grab it, compete for their money and attention and swamp the original ideals to death in the commercialism it intended to fight… a tradition started in the late 1960’s. Drawing upon influences from comic books, tattoos and skilled illustrations these are a few artists who have so far helped define the look of 1990s rock art posters. * * *

2000 and Beyond...

Some identifiable characteristics of poster design in the 1990’s and beyond include: Art Nouveau and Pop Culture references Copying many past generation styles Use of desktop graphic software such as Photoshop and Illustrator Use of Silk Screening

Remember this poster we looked at during the 40’s propaganda posters? 2005 book cover and promotional poster for a book

Everything old is new again

The role and appearance of the poster has changed continuously over the past century to meet the changing needs of society. Although its role is less central than it was 100 years ago, the poster will evolve further as computers and the Internet revolutionize the way we communicate in the 21st century. The digital revolution has added a new set of tools to the poster makers arsenal and only time will tell if these unique posters will become as collectable as the posters they were copied from in style. Never before has it been so easy for so many to create posters...yet not that many have become masters of the new tools. QUESTIONS ?