Graphics Incognito Analysis

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In Graphics Incognito, Mark Owens argues that certain modernist tactics were adopted by

early 1980’s underground music like punk culture. He mentioned two main punk rock

groups’ covers and logos that are Germs(GI) and Black Flag. The surprising thing is that

visual language of underground music is influenced by modern design.

The Germs (GI) is a legendary punk band from Los Angeles that originally active from

1977 to 1980. The Germs’ album cover has a big cyan blue circle positioned at lower right

corner with a black background. The cover also includes GERMS (GI) written by small

caps Helvetica. Typography, colour and abstract shapes are components of graphic

abstraction that belongs to Bauhaus movement. In addition, GI album lack of a …show more content…

Mark Owens also mentioned about Black Flag that is hardcore punk band originally formed

in 1977 in California. Black Flag’s logo was shaped in bars which represents a waving

black flag. The logo is impressed by Bauhaus movement. Owens pointed out that the four

black rectangles were spray-painted by the band throughout LA and reproduced on

countless flyers, t-shirts, records and more. The important thing is that bars were easy to

reproduce even with homemade techniques like stencils. In the early 1980s, a hand- scrawled t-shirt bearing the Black Flag bars could serve as a passport to an entire

underground subculture. It is very impressive in my opinion. In addition, there is a big

similarity between Muriel Cooper’s MIT Press logo and Black Flag’s logo. Both are formed

in bars. Muriel Cooper created MIT Press logo in 1963 whereas Black Flag bars were

created in 1978. This situation simply clarifies that Black Flag was taken from MIT after 15

years.

According to Owens, Jeffrey Keedy mentions ‘’Zombie Modernism’’ in a 1995 essay.

Zombie modernism means that reanimated in the future. In my opinion, Black Flag’s

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