Arts Bombast: Swissted
Something that happens to me more than I’d like to admit: I see something BEAUTIFUL, I stop and question how I feel about the principle behind it, and then I swiftly forget about principles altogether because, oh yeah, it’s fucking beautiful.
Normally this happens when I’m ogling $500 dresses made by evil corporations, but in this case, it’s something much cooler: ’80s punk and indie rock flyers redesigned (twisted) in “Swiss Modernist” style (swissted?) by NYC-based graphic designer Mike Joyce.
I could argue this is commodifying the anti-consumerist punk spirit, but like, among punk fans, I probably lead the least “HxC/DIY” lifestyle fan of ’em all… plus I like these. The color combinations are really what get me. Some favorites:
“Gotta catch ’em all!” I mean… you can purchase the posters here.
Ribbon Around A Bomb 
It’s cool, isn’t it, when you can turn your brain off and just enjoy sometimes. That said, over-thinking about art is also quite fun!
I’d love to be able to find a good balance between enjoying stuff at face value and thinking critically. So far, I have not managed it.
Swiss Modernism looks cool. I like art that uses a of of simple shapes.
Being from Akron, Ohio, Devo registers most in my mind as punk art fliers perceived for immediacy. My first impression of the Swissted fliers took me back to my having first seen a musuem in Akron showcasing Peter Max. The museum was in my neighborhood, but I was too young to get in to see the works. The whole Devo theory of De-Evolution as represented in their visual depiction of women is for the most part cutting edge “kinkiness” for me. I would follow a Devo flier to a gig, but I would question the punk validity of a Swissted Devo flier. Most of the punk fliers I’ve seen in record stores and on poles here in Birmingham, Alabama where I now live retain the punch of vintage D.I.Y punk urgency and anxiety. Skeptic? is a Birmingham band that caught my eye with their fliers, but I’ve never seen them. Still their cd cover art and their music has worked its way into my collection. Shonen Knife also seems in tune to the Swiss Modernist look with their costumes and musical simplicity. Always try new things. I always thought the Residents were too creepy with their visual concepts, but now I like the band, especially “H.E.L.L. No”. When it comes to art, I accept what I like, and cancel out what I don’t like or what I can’t out create. I wish everyone a Happy Halloween!
Yes. Shapes and colors. Nothing better, really.