Between the optimism at the birth of Rock 'n' Roll and the disillusion of Punk,
the Pop generation created a lifestyle which reached its apogee in 1966 in 'Swin
ging London', and San Francisco's 'Summer of Love' in 1967. Throughout the 1960s
Pop values and attitudes constantly challenged those of the wider society. From
its dynamic genesis in the seminally important film of teenage alienation and r
ebellion, 'Blackboard Jungle', of 1955, which featured Bill Haley's iconic 'Rock
Around the Clock', to its negation in the anarchy of '70s Punk, Pop was probabl
y the most significant cultural phenomenon in the second half of the twentieth c
entury.
'Pop! Design, Culture, Fashion 1956-1976' covers all aspects of Pop d
esign in Britain and America, from early rock 'n' roll to punk. It looks at reco
rd covers and packaging designs by Pop artists such as Andy Warhol, Peter Blake
and Richard Hamilton, and the work of fashion designers such as Mary Quant, Barb
ara Hulanicki from Biba, Vivienne Westwood and John Stephen of Carnaby Street fa
me, as well as their contemporaries in America such as Betsey Johnson of Paraphe
rnalia. Pop graphics are also covered, from the psychedelic posters of Alan Aldr
idge, and the design collective 'Hapdash and the Coloured Coat' to rock posters
from San Francisco and the west coast of America.
There are also reproduction
s of rarely-seen underground magazines such as 'Oz', 'Gandalf's Garden', 'l' Act
uel' and the 'International Times'. The ephemeral nature of much of Pop design i
s explored - from paper furniture and 'throwaway' paper dresses, to longer-lasti
ng trends such as Union Jack clothing, metal badges, machine-embroidered denim,
printed t-shirts and tin badges. The book also looks at the work of 'Them', an i
nfluential group of 'Baroque Pop' designers who coalesced around Zandra Rhodes i
n the early 70s, and ends with the anti-design of punk fashion by Vivienne Westw
ood, and the self-proclaimed 'horrible by design' punk graphics of Jamie Reid.
Whilst there have been innumerable books on the Swinging Sixties, and on Pop A
rt, this is the first book to look at Pop design over a twenty year span, and to
examine the interconnected nature of so many elements of the phenomenon such as
books and magazines, music, film, fashion and graphic art. It is also unique in
that the illustrations are not sourced from the usual magazine archive images,
but are photographs of the artefacts themselves, from Elton John's waistcoat, em
broidered with suns, stars and rainbows, to Twiggy coathangers, psychedelic book
covers and every teenager's must-have item: 'Glo Glo boots for Go Go girls'.
