Noise Addict Poster
This poster by Art Chantry is evidence of how punk’s raw, DIY design practices began to trickle into mainstream visual culture. He made this in 1996 for an Australian punk/noise band and the design is a great look into postmodernism’s incorporation of imperfection, irony, playful dissonance, and anti-design. Chantry found an old image of a baby accidentally pointing at its ear and built the concept around “shattering volume destroying a child’s hearing” (Chantry, as cited in Strizver, 2015). The lettering was created using dried out press type that fractured upon application, then photocopied through 25 generations to amplify the distorted, chaotic feel. His purposeful inclusion of decay and low fidelity techniques is a staple of punk and grunge aesthetics. What began as a sort of subcultural rebellion ultimately shaped everything from alternative album covers to contemporary branding and streetwear.
