Post Modern Pop;
Examining the truth of visual Post-Modernity & its relevance over the past 40 years to the design & production of the record sleeve.
Abstract
Studying the theories of Post-Modernism
and Semiotics; I intend to show that post modernity is/and has been prevalent in record sleeve design from the past forty years. To prove this I have chosen a selection of record sleeves from that time range; two from the golden age of Post-Modernism which is cited as 1970–1990 (V&A, 2012). As well as these I have chosen a contemporary album from today as evidence that is still Post-Modernism in today’s culture. I performed this analytical research as I had a keen interest in disproving sceptics who think Post-modernism doesn’t exist via the record cover medium. Alan Kirby of Philosophy Now and Edward Docx of Prospect magazine have both written articles for their respective publications declaring Post-Modernism’s death and the aim is to prove them wrong. Concluding, to question where Post-Modernity will take us going forward as a Post-Modern society. New media has helped us be more Post-Modern because it has given access to design work that would not normally be seen, as well as the tools to use these new found images in design contexts.
Contents • Abstract • Introduction • Chapter Two_ Post-Modernity & the Record Sleeve • Case Studies_ Unknown Pleasures & Armed Forces • Chapter Three_ 21st Century Post-Modernism • Case Study_ The Magic Whip by Blur • Design as art • Conclusion
> Armed Forces Inner (1979) Barney Bubbles
Introduction
“If modernism was based on idealism & reason, Post-Modernism was born of scepticism and a suspicion of reason. It challenged the notion that there are universal objective certainties or truths that will explain everything for everybody.” (Tate, 2016) It started as a movement of bold brash
To some authors, Post-Modernism is long
design from the late 60’s to it supposed death
dead (Kirby, 2006, Docx, 2011); and say that it
in the late 80’s. It reintroduced colour and depth
ceased in the late 1980’s, as it started to reject
to mass culture via art and design; it did this by
itself but I intend to show these authors are
rejecting the utopian view and single narrative
wrong. They suggest that Post-Modernism was
ideas of modernism. Post-Modernists rejected
exclusively there to rally against, and outright
this, elaborating that everything must be viewed
reject the mainstream culture but it has taken
differently, and not everything is the same. The
on so much more of a meaning than that. Post-
work produced tended to be of an anything goes
Modernism didn’t die it was pushed underground;
nature while simultaneously being conscious of
back to where it started in the Independent
borrowing from styles from the past.
Record label scene. Mass culture had moved onto
This freedom was expressed in many differ-
a different visual trend and those who grew up
ent ways but quite often by parody, homage and
during the golden age of Post-Modernism wanted
tribute. Parody is the idea of taking an existing
to hold the torch for the new generation.
media text and exaggerating it for comedy.
With this dissertation, I will show that we
Homage honours and respects the pre-existing
as a society are still Post-Modern via our record
media text. A tribute, similar to homage, is to
sleeve designs. I intend to do this by analysing,
directly show gratitude the original text. These
critically, the work of Post-Modern record sleeve
particular things are Post-Modern as they are all
designers from this golden age, which the V&A
levels of appropriation, whether they are direct as
museum described as being, from 1970–1990
with a tribute or indirect as with a homage.
(V&A, 2012). I will then be analysing a modern day
Record Sleeves were another vehicle for
record sleeve example to show that designers are
the postmodern vision. Record Sleeves started
still Post-Modern in the way that they design our
to package records in the 1930’s and was the
music packaging.
brainchild of Alex Steinweiss. “the way they were selling these albums was ridiculous. The covers were just brown, tan or green paper...there’s no push to it. There’s no attractiveness. There’s no sales appeal.” (Steinweiss, 2010). Ever since then, we as consumers have been intrigued by what’s on the cover. Very rarely were these covers exploited until the mid sixties where they were used to push bands via the bands look alone. Then, the covers, started to transform into a medium for artists expression. The album was originally used for classical music, as a way for the public to listen to concerto’s at home and has developed to be used for all kinds of music; folk, pop, rock, indie, reggae & jazz, the logical progression as music changed.
Chapter Two_Post-Modernity & the Record Sleeve
Prior to this golden age there was a period
While Peter Saville was in Manchester,
of work, which laid the foundations for post
Barney Bubbles graduated from the Twickenham
modernity. Fine artists were many of the
College of Technology, in London, before working
originators of post modernity. In particularly, pop
and learning with various companies, then setting
artists were responsible for this. In the mid 60’s
up his own art group and then his own graphic
they were new to the art world and they caused
studio, Teenburger Designs, where he began
moral panics with their work because it rejected
his design career. In 1977, Barney Bubbles was
the high art that the establishment was used
appointed Art Director at Stiff Records where he
to. Many of the critics described the work “it as
supplied album, single and promotional designs
vulgar, sensational, non-aesthetic, and a joke”(
for the label’s roster of artists— Elvis Costello,
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014).
Ian Dury & The Damned. During this time, he
Andy Warhol was one of the more provoc-
also redesigned the music magazine NME, logo
ative artists with his work. He used innuendo,
and made several music videos. He also started
sexual references & images of death, for his
painting and designing furniture.
work, subjects that were never openly discussed in that culture. It was also a time when artists also became designers. Andy Warhol as well as
Andy Warhol (1967) Velvet Underground & Nico
being an artist was designing record sleeves for the Velvet Underground and Peter Blake was designing record sleeve for The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. “It was a time of many once defined boundaries blurring.” (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014). Despite Warhol designing album covers not
many of them were particularly Post-Modern as most featured commercial illustrations; most of them jazz albums for the Blue Note and RCA label respectively. (see examples Blue Note 1543 & LPM-1112). But his postmodern examples were inspirational. One of the designers I am exploring for their postmodern credentials sites his cover for the Velvet Underground and Nico album as the first influences. This album cover depicts a banana on a white background that peels to reveal a pink inner to the banana implying phallic imagery (figure 1). This album cover design inspired Peter Saville; “Seeing an Andy Warhol illustration on a Velvet Underground album was a revelation.... It was the art of your generation... true pop art.” (Gigwise, 2008) Peter Saville was born in the Manchester
suburb of Hale in 1955 and was introduced to graphic design by his friend, Malcolm Garrett; leading him to study it at Manchester Polytechnic, where he was soon joined by this friend. During this time; Peter Saville became obsessed by bands such as Kraftwerk and Roxy Music. Garrett encouraged during this time to discover the work of “new” typographers such as Herbert Bayer and Jan Tschichold. Peter Saville found their elegantly ordered aesthetic better than the typical punk graphics.
Andy Warhol (1963) Five Deaths
Case Studies_Unknown Pleasures and Armed Forces
Both of these designers are Post-Modernist in their designs and I intend to show this by examining their work. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division was released in 1979 on Factory records and given the FAC10, catalogue number. It was the bands debut album and the first album on the aforementioned record label and was designed by Peter Saville. Released that same year, was the Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ album Armed Forces on Radar Records. This was the bands second release. This album was designed by Barney Bubbles. Both of these album covers fit into the category of Post-Modernist and they do this in a number of different ways. Both designers were given great freedom by
their respective labels, which explains why they were able to create the designs that they wanted to. Peter Saville was given freedom because “the job (of designing record sleeves) was a scared one” (Design Observer, 2007); a quote taken from an interview with his boss at Factory Records, Tony Wilson. For Barney Bubbles; it was working for an independent label; he told the Face in 1981 “I could actually do what I wanted to do without being told off by record companies”(Bubbles, 1981). In this way both designers are similar as the freedom to do what it was they deemed suitable for the album cover with only band approval stepping in their way. The most Post-Modern aspect of these
sleeves is appropriation. Unknown Pleasures, visually, the front cover is just one image in a vast space of black. The image is lifted from The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy and is of “100 consecutive pulses from the pulsar CP 1919”. The image was found by one of the band and was the only image the band liked for the cover. So Peter Saville stole it for the album cover. He admits he stole in an interview with Rick Poynor published in Eye Magazine (1995) “It’s better to quote...than to parody…its more honest, more intellectual”. Further evidence of its apparent illegitimate use is a quote from the images original author Harold Craft “I didn’t know anything about it… I had no clue.” (Scientific American, 2015) Using the word, apparent, prior to the quote was an intentional, to many PostModern designers no image is out of range to be used/stolen; everything is eligible without a filter for taste or whether it is appropriate. “a sense that ‘anything goes’.” (Tate, 2016)
“A sense that ‘anything goes’.” (Tate, 2016)
“All art is stealing” (Garret, 1990, cited in Poynor, 2013), making the act of stealing more prevalent than expected. However not all examples of these will be Post-Modern. People can do it, to homage or as a tribute to the band but examples where there is the ripping off of the idea just because the author has no ideas themselves are not Post-Modern. Peter Saville steals a lot of imagery but steals it and then re-contextualizes it, this is the idea that post modern. So the designer here has taken a science diagram from a book and then re-contextualising into an album cover. To the scientists, it was merely a diagram to explain their findings. Using research you discover, the original creator of the diagram didn’t know it was on album until his colleague told him. So as a rule; you need to understand the original context to successfully use in a Post-Modern context. You can’t repurpose an album cover that is already an album cover. < Unknown Pleasures (1979) Peter Saville
> Unknown Pleasures Inner (1979) Peter Saville
“All art is stealing” (Garret, 1990)
The Armed Forces cover does not appropriate an image outright but merely appropriates the style of painting. The David Shepard style painting commissioned by Barney Bubbles for the front cover, was intentionally done to be kitsch and opposing to be punk aesthetic. This type of appropriation is dubbed a Pastiche; as intentionally copies the style of someone else’s work. The interior of the album features illustrations that “reference avant garde art history, exuberant faux animal skin, and multiple illustrations of military figures done up in a pop style” (Lynam (2015) by French graphic design team Bazooka. Making this album cover an homage to art’s rich history without care for whether it’s high art or low art. It is this mixture of art that is Post-Modern as it will “explain everything to everybody” (tate, 2016), whether you are wealthy or you poor; art will make sense to you. These illustrations contrast heavily with the painting on the front cover. The distinct clash between pop art illustration and realism is very jarring. It is almost like design collaboration with elements coming from different designers with opposing ideas. In a modernist situation, only one design style would be suitable as their way (the modernists way) is the only true design solution because of the belief that everything must fit the “grand Narrative”. Here in Barney Bubbles work, this mix of style is clearly via this context of modernism, is a postmodern piece. This makes it differ from the singular approach of the Peter Saville sleeve, that apart from the input of the image from the band, he worked on it by himself.
^ Armed Forces (1979) Barney Bubbles
The album covers themselves are both over
young designers had at the time. Record covers
is when designers exaggerate the physical ele-
prior to this release were function driven; the aim
ments of a project, up and above what is needed.
was hold an album within an inner sleeve so the
At the time, popular records were being sold in
consumer could buy it and successful transport it
flat unadventurous sleeves on thin card. This may
home without damage, now it had become much
have been done to increase profit margins. Both
more. One reviewer called the album package
of these albums do not follow this principle; due
Barney Bubbles’ Sistine chapel (Nostalgia
to both being on independent labels with which
Central, 2016). However, in contrast, the reviewer
there used to be a finer attention to detail. These
in The Guardian stated “It comes in expensive
albums are an example of this.
and useless packaging that guarantees that the
Armed Forces is over designed in the sense
^ Armed Forces Inner Sleeve (1979) Barney Bubbles
which I agree seemed to be the mentality that
designed but not to the same extent. Over design
record slips from your hand scattering bits of
that the packaging is almost the most important
paper across the floor… All tediously mysterious”
part of this album cover. There are no other
(Denselow, 1979). I disagree with The Guardian
examples of record packaging that folds out
reviewer who fails to mention the design on the
into a selection of illustrative panels leading to 7
packaging; just outright saying that it is “useless”,
different variations that the back cover could have.
because he is unwilling to even attempt under-
But once folded out, the example contains more
stand the package. The design is better when it is
illustrations, 4 postcards, an inner sleeve and a
meaningless, is what I gather from this.
free single. This is a clear example of over design.
Unknown Pleasures is not on the same
Each of the four postcards is double sided, as is
level of complexity in packaging as Armed
the inner and the single has it’s own cover.
Forces. Instead of going for the top end of what
This is clear rejection of the modernist
an album could be, it goes for a luxury feel.
idea of form follows function; where the form
“Blank and Inviting” (McCullough, 1979) is how
is intrinsically linked to the function and an
one reviewer described the sleeve and I agree
acceptance of the new, post modern, idea of
with this judgement. It remains a unique album
form over function. In the time after Britain; the
sleeve, with no other cover that looks like it; it
freedom to throw out the ideas of the old and
looks as inviting today as it did upon release. The
start a new, not evolve them like the narrative idea
album cover is printed on a matt, firm, textured
would suggest. Poynor (2013) states “there was
sleeve. This was normally the reserve of “special
a willing to use anything that seemed to work”,
edition” album covers. A touch that goes beyond what you would expect from an album cover. To some; the sleeve is superfluous and the music is what is important. But here there is the link that design and music is the full package. The linking of the two is a Post-Modern construct; the intermediality between the music and the cover became important.
Not many album covers explored the relationship between the music of the album and the visuals; making this a curious example. “The Clicking electronic drums hissed and spat, a bass rumbles in, fat and heavy, a guitar pinged trebly into a weaving, jittery pattern of ragged chords.” one (McCullough, 1979) reviewer described the bands sound. With the vocal being described as an “expressive, confused … croon” (Savage, 1979) by another. All of which is seen of the sleeve; the jittery pattern and clicking drums is seen in the form of the pulsar and the background of the album is the heavy black. Previously discussed was the mixing of art styles in the work of Barney Bubbles especially, but not exclusive to the Armed Forces record sleeve. It is a piece that combines art styles from art’s history; mixing the low culture of pop art with the high culture of war paintings. Unknown Pleasures is not a mixture of art styles but a mixture of educational practises. The graphic design process of an album cover or any design for mass consumption is considered a vocational/ low profession. This contrasts to the diagram featured which is a scientific diagram. Science is considered to be a core subject; a high subject if you will. Clashes of high and low cultures are Post-Modern as they fit into the “anything goes” mentality of the designers. Peter Saville and Barney Bubbles were raised on the similar design styles and are very similar as practitioners but contrast in many different ways. Barney Bubbles use of colour on Armed Forces is bright. This is a rejection of the teachings of modernism. The history of modernist design had all been very much muted in its approach to colour; limiting designers to an off white, red and a black; as seen in much of Jan Tschichold’s work. But now that “the new typography” was over 50 years old it was time for a change; colour was brought back with psychedelic design and designers like Wes Wilson. Barney Bubbles combined the two of these styles. Peter Saville and his work was always more reserved in terms of colour and Unknown pleasures is no exception. Peter Saville’s original source for the diagram in The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy was a black diagram on a white background. So he could have made the diagram any colour and put it on any colour background but made the conscious decision to make it white on black and to make it surrounded in by the empty black background.
< Unknown Pleasures Label (1979) Peter Saville
Chapter 3_ 21st Century Post-Modernism
When Post-Modernism was replaced as the
dominant culture; it was pushed underground and became a part of the sub-dominant culture. Burgeoning subcultures were using post modernity as their vehicle for their visuals. Designer such as The Designers Republic utilised the bright colours of Barney Bubbles’ work and clashed it with the stealing idea of Peter Saville; stealing visual cues from the east. Using anime and letterforms of that culture to portray via record covers the existence in England, late 80’s/early 90’s. 8vo was another design company continuing the Post-Modern ideal. They took the neutral Swiss design of modernism and combined it with the bright colours of the psychedelic, rejecting the modernist notion that limited colour palettes make the design communicate better. We are now in an age where post mod-
ernism is making a comeback into mainstream society; but in unexpected ways. The rise of new media and cheaply accessible software it means consumers are becoming postmodern because it is so easy. Technology such as Adobe Photoshop has given, even those without experience in design, the chance to create their own designs at home. This in conjunction with the Internet has given these people an audience with websites such as Deviant Art. These designs are often parodies of pre-existing media texts, as original ideas tend to come with client work and these are not self-proclaimed designers. Tahiro glu et al. (2014) state that “the effect of new media on the
Post-Modernity had a golden period where it
computerization of cultural practices has moved
seemed that most of the work was breaking
to a new level and has become more open and
new ground visually or in terms of packaging.
common”, this substantiates the pervious claim.
Post-Modernity had a time up until up until the
Mass exposure to design via websites such
late 80’s/early 90’s of being the dominant culture,
as Pinterest and Tumblr are exposing the digital
after this time it has a demise because it started to
generation to new design ideas but more im-
reject. Due to the demise of the vinyl and people
portantly old ideas; things that they would never
wanting a light weight easily carried music format,
have seen without actively seeking it or looking
Unknown Pleasures had been reissued on CD, in
in design books. This means people can pick and
a jewel case with thin glossy paper for a cover,
choose what they want to combine, take from or
undoing all the hard work that was put into it.
ignore from all of these sources. This means the
Armed Forces was given the same treatment on
past and all of its design is being purged by these
a CD issue scaling back the multi panelled back
digital consumers.
cover to a CD booklet.
But, as highlighted by Jon Savage, in his article for The Face magazine in 1983, the more times you copy a style or an image, the less you care about where it’s come from. The original material’s context becomes lost, and with post modernism, you don’t understand the context, you can’t do the project justice. As he later explains, the past is being plundered to fulfil the needs of the present, Savage (1983) states “the Present is all that matters.” I agree with this analysis, as this makes us lose our real sense of history; as we care less about the connotations as they will be lost, the more contexts it is taken into. There is a culture whereby if a project needs it, you just raid history archives and steal an image; whether it’s copyrighted or the right thing to do. There isn’t a limit however to how many times you reference something, which I think is the implication from this article. As long as it remains a contextualisation of a piece it will still remain a Post-Modern piece of graphic design. Record Sleeves today; they have had to put up with going from 12x12inches to 5x5 and then
12” x 12”
even smaller now that digital has taken over. The digital music format shrunk what was already a small format even further down in size. It almost became insignificant to the music. Classic albums are now being viewed in different ways, as the true impact of the album art cannot be felt. The dark ambient sounds of Joy Division where just being heard without the dark textures of the album sleeve by which it was originally heard. Armed Forces can no longer be experienced with 5” x 5”
the same visual impact that it was originally. But somehow vinyl has started to come back; coined the “Vinyl Revival”. It could be an outright rejection of the digital and wanting something to hold or just preference, in terms of sound quality. Regardless it means post modernity can move back to where it started, with a raft of new and old artists taking on and embracing the larger format to explore visual ideas. 2.5” x 2.5”
The Present is all that matters.” Savage (1983)
Case Study_ The Magic Whip by Blur Blur’s career started at the same time as the
Designer Tony Hung has over designed this
decline of the record in the early 90’s but with
project in a similar vain to Barney Bubbles. Design
their new album they have gone back to vinyl,
for record sleeve has come a long way; from font
in elaborate style. On the surface as a western
cover and back cover, to front back and inner
consumer; it looks like nothing else around. There
sleeve etc. But for this project; Hung has designed
is a neon sign with Chinese writing on it; making
a double gatefold album, two inner sleeves with a
it illegible. It appears to the consumer that there
six panel double-sided poster. Form over function.
is no band name or album title on it. In that sense
He has extended the culture clash taking all of
it has a same effect as Unknown Pleasures. The
his cues for the inner designs by quoting origami
text, because we as a western culture don’t under-
paper, traditional Chinese writing & carved wood
stand, we see it as an image. But to the eastern
blocks. There is also a synergy between all of
consumer, it is legible in language terms; it says
these quotes and references with the music;
the album title and the band name. It still remains
which was inspired by the region and recorded
postmodern to reject band name and album title
in China. Songs like "My Terracotta Heart" and
being on the front cover because as practice it is
"Pyongyang" are evidence of this, making the
still a rarity. 7 out of the top 100 albums, in the
intermedial link clear between the graphic design
chart ending 28 January 2016, didn’t have the text
of album cover. This link has been made before
on the cover. (Official charts, 2016)
in album cover design as my previous examples
The culture clash makes the piece work on two. Taking a delight normally associated with the
have shown. This is in clear opposition to the modernist
great British summer time, ice cream and placing
ethic of nationality. The modernism vehicle was
it in a pseudo foreign context. Then making it
rooted in the idea they were promoting the
a neon sign and putting it in the context of the
greater good of the country they were rooted
night time; you remove all of its original meanings
in; Bauhaus wanted to better Germany and
and start to imply new ones thus re-contextual-
Rodchenko (as well as other Russian designers)
ising it, as Recontextualisation defined as “the
wanted to help the cause of Mother Russia,
placement of existing images in new contexts to
“Conveying the utopian ideals of the new state
generate new meanings for viewers.” (Broome,
to a largely illiterate population” (Art in America,
2015)
2015).
Despite being in Chinese, the writing may
The idea of using another cultural language
not make much sense “‘Blur’ – using the adjective;
to explore your message would appear to be alien
the bottom right reads ‘Magic Whip’, as there is
to these designers. The use of eastern images to
no ‘The’ in Chinese; the translation of ‘Whip’ is not
promote the western bands image would not of
the ice cream kind, but the other.” Hung, (2015)
been possible if we were still a modernist society.
the designer responsible, told Creative review. The abstract use of language, in a culture known for conformity, could be seen to be provocative; a trait of post modernity, not dissimilar to Andy Warhol’s pieces in the 60’s.
> The Magic Whip (2015) Tony Hung
Design As Art
Peter Saville in his studio
Art by definition is the “expression of creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form, appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power”; (Oxford Dictionary). Now to a modernist, the definition can seemingly only apply to art; sculpture and painting. But to a post modernist, the key words are “visual form”, anything that is visual can be a form of art. To show we are post modern as a society and designers, look what is taking the place of so called art, where it would normally be seen. Art galleries all over the world in the past fifteen years have started to host exhibitions, of designers work. In 2003, Peter Saville, the man responsible for designing Unknown Pleasures, was given the chance to show his life’s work at the Design Museum, London. In the modernist narrative there is two things wrong with this. Designers are not artists because graphic design is a means to an end and not meant to be taken out of a commercial context. A museum dedicated to design, leaves all of the work in the museum without it’s original context, thus the consumer can not tell if it is a successful piece or not. Post modernity has opened the spectrum up so that anything visual can be considered art. If the designers themselves think anything is useable as source material for the work, why can’t anything visual be considered art? If it matches the description.
Barney Bubbles, posthumously, had a
Is it possible that these types of exhibitions
show of his work and working process in 2010.
are responsible for the vinyl revival and the
The exhibition was hosted at Chelsea Space.
revaluation of the vinyl format? Exhibitions of
On display, were album covers and promotional
record sleeves started popping up from 2003,
materials for the bands he had worked with during
when the Peter Saville retrospective, was held
his life. A similar narrative would have taken place
but didn’t get going until the Vinyl Revival. “the
with modernists rejecting that design should be
real hero of vinyl is the record covers themselves”
in an art space. Furthermore, objections would
(Art Vinyl, 2015) this playing on the idea that with
be made the working process being on display.
many great albums you can’t help but see the
Showing this rejects the idea that pieces had to
record sleeve, when you listen to them, as that
be finished. To modernists; the final design is
is the way that the consumer used to consume
the final voice of communication. The process is
music. You had to buy music with the sleeve, you
between the designer and him only.
could not escape the cover, it was part of the
Given that Graphic design is meant to
package. Nowadays not all music comes with
primarily communicate and art is primarily for
covers. Anonymous P2P (Peer to Peer) downloads
beauty or emotional power, but these are just the
and download sites don’t always come with album
main function of each of these creative outlets.
art because they are illegal transactions. To these
It by no means however they can’t be seen on a
certain types of people, music and its design are
different level. They are not exclusive to only that
not linked and the artwork is not important to the
art form. Because Graphic Design needs to be
consumption of
pleasing to the eye before anyone can get the
their music.
Designers, with these exhibitions, are now
message that it contains so on some levels it has
getting credit for what many designers consider
to tick the beauty box. As we have seen: design
a faceless act. Barney Bubbles never credited
sometimes looks more like art via Unknown
himself for any of his design work on any of his
Pleasures and we have seen design, pastiche art
record sleeves or posters; Bubbles (1981) stated
via Armed Forces.
in an interview “...I don’t really like crediting myself on people’s albums—like you’ve got a Nick Lowe album, it’s Nick Lowe’s album not a Barney < Barney Bubbles Process; Exhibition
Bubbles’ album.” This is a way of thinking that I disagree, with because he and Nick Lowe did different things on the album project and everyone else who did their job was credited for it. But Barney Bubble’s rejection of credit has now been turned on its head. The album cover for Unknown Pleasures is in the collection at MoMa (Museum of Modern art) in New York and Barney Bubbles is in the collection. Both surpassing their remit as graphic designers and are now on the level of artists.
“I don’t really like crediting myself on people’s albums — like you’ve got a Nick Lowe album, it’s Nick Lowe’s album not a Barney Bubbles’ album.”
< Self Portrait (1982) Barney Bubbles K Foundation Burn a Million Quid Poster
Conclusion
Post Modernity started with an expected
limited life span, a design theory based on rejecting the past, at some point it would have to reject itself, thus causing it’s end. Many see that it passed away at the beginning of the early 90’s because instead of it rejecting itself it started to quote itself and the originally creativity it had was lost. But by examining examples from the birth of it’s existence in record covers and what it looks like today in record covers show that it is still relevant in more ways. The Post-Modern work today rejects the culture that replaced it as the dominant culture in the 90’s. I’ve shown this, with a variety of sources. When vinyl as a format was being reappraised, so were the designers involved in the design of the sleeves. Making those previously unaware of these designers, familiar with them. By analysing two examples of album design from what many would coin “the golden age” of Post modernism; I have explained what it meant to be post modernist, in a late 70’s and with an example of today’s post modern culture, I have shown what it means to be post modern today. Those two visions of postmodern culture are not the identical but they are unified by the idea of rejection. So when will it end? With the death of record sleeves? or will it keep going? To quote Drummond (2011)
"If attacking Post-Modernism is also Post-Modern, can the movement ever end?"
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