San Francisco: Early 1980s.
Price: $12,500.00
Unbound. A collection of 483 flyers from the San Francisco Bay Area punk and art scene created during the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring a wide range of important punk bands, including Black Flag, The Go-Go’s, Flipper, U2, and The Adolescents as well as material from various theater troupes, protest groups, gay and lesbian organizations, and art exhibitions operating during this revolutionary period in music and culture. The flyers are of various colors and sizes, though most are either 8.5" x 11" or 8.5" x 14", with several incorporating rubberstamped elements. Overall near fine or better with only occasional scattered edgewear and light soiling; a few exhibit staple or tack holes, tape or other signs of light use.
By the end of the 1970s California, with the aid of T.S.O.L. and other punk bands, was ushered into the punk scene via hardcore and new wave. With venues such as Mabuhay Gardens, a former Philippine restaurant, and I-Beam along with promoters like Dirk Dirkson, bands were able to utilize the space to create a San Francisco Bay-area specific sound. Within this group are notable artists like Raymond Pettibon, famous for his work with Black Flag, with a flyer for a Flipper show depicting a small girl stitching up the groin of a man; comedian Jim Short’s *Short Newz* single page zine discussing Black Flag and Revenge; and various photocopied band pictures of acts such as The Go-Go’s, Lloyds, and Symptoms.
Artists and bands were able to change the face of music promotion by using collage and “do-it-yourself” methods of flyer creation. These techniques can be seen throughout the archive with examples such as a flyer for a Ventura’s show at the Café Flore with a 1950s image of synchronized swimmers, and a collaged and photocopied flyer for the punk radio show, “After the Mab” stating “don’t let your drunken friends touch your stereo!” Free of the financial pressures of the larger art world, Bay Area poster artists forged a unique and immediately recognizable visual language built out of media appropriation, subversion, and humor.
While the archive is primarily made up of punk-related flyers, the archive also includes a number of examples of publicity for agitprop theater performances, protest efforts, and for various gay and lesbian groups. The artists often bridged the gap between the various communities and an effort to make people socially aware of unjust attitudes towards gender, sexuality, and race was discussed within the punk communities and with its allies. Present are advertisements for Les Nickelettes’ *Spaced Out: A Sci-Fi Musical*, *Paranoia?* at the International Arts Festival, and the Erotic Halloween Ball featuring Lloyds, Chrome Dinette, and The Edge.
An important collection of early ’80s punk and punk art ephemera in beautiful condition from the influential San Francisco Bay Area scene.
Item #390258
Status: On Hold
