Swag: Rock Posters of the 90's

by Spencer Drate, Art Chantry

Exploding with color, Swag is an introduction into the world of concert poster art from the past decade, and a look at the cutting-edge music for which it was created. Sandwiched between the glitz of glam rock and the bombast of bling-bling, rock music in the 1990s sounded off against record-industry commercialism in favor of a new stripped-down, do-it-yourself aesthetic. Disenchanted by the over-produced pop sensations of the 1980s, bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Sebadoh, and Sonic Youth began to emerge from relative obscurity into the limelight of music videos, magazine covers, and festivals with their raw amped-up sounds that only bass, drums, and guitars could make. It was a time when, on many levels of popular culture, the underground seized control of the mainstream. In alternative arts communities from Seattle to New York, it seemed that nearly everyone was in a struggling band or lending a hand to one. Meanwhile, that same DIY spirit was driving those whom had been enlisted - budding graphic artists, band members, among others - to create the concert flyers, posters, and other promotional materials that directed the fan bases to the plethora of performances. They too were stripping away the gloss, reducing the methods and the medium until only the essentials were left. A new kind of rock poster had emerged and it broke at least as many established rules as the bands it was designed to promote.

Genres: Music, Art

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2003

About the author

Award-winning and legendary Creative Director/Designer/Media Writer/Radio and NEW HD Personality/Curator/Author of 21 major pop-culture books all visually driven. 6 time selected GRAMMY judge and every year Making Vinyl Event judge on album packaging awards committee area. Nominated for The National Design Award.

Reviews

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really cool book to look at and find inspiration from. It has some beautiful imagery and depicts the art of the Rock poster over the years in a sweet, vividly pleasurable way.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great review of rock posters from the 90's. The selection of bands is like a walk down memory lane. I would like to use some of the posters for t-shirts.