Punk Graphics exhibition at the ADAM Design Museum of Brussels – THIS WEEK IN ARTS VOL.4
Want to hide from the current meteorological nonsense? In need of releasing (or getting back to) your Raw Power? Search no more: Punk Graphics is the exhibition you must visit at the ADAM Design Musuem of Brussels, located next to the famous Atomium.
This exhibition soothes the eternal “what is punk and what is not” debate by showcasing what epitomizes this era best. Let’s take a walk on the art side.
Note: a comprehensive review of our visit at the ADAM Design Museum of Brussels is available on the travel blog 3 raisons pour, so check it out!
Punk Graphics exhibition at the ADAM Design Museum of Brussels: our review
Unknown Pleasures, Known Faces
As aforementioned, expect a quite comprehensive tour of the punk collective psyche. Starting all black and white, colors and multicultural influences gain in intensity as your mind roam the place in awe, and never without curiosity. Note: the scenography is quite simple, but knows how to surprise.
Punk Graphics delivers an intense experience, mixing the known and the unknown. Precious memorabilia and iconic prints are in display. This exhibition might be your one in a lifetime opportunity to witness original posters designs by Peter Saville (Factory Records’ notorious graphic designer) and original outfits from 1976 designed by Vivienne Westwood.
At first sight, some might remain unsatiated by the “mainstream” spirit of Punk Graphics, but the attentive visitor will appreciate and value the bits of alternative and obscure history picked by Andrew Blauvelt, the curator.
Curb your elitism: this exhibition carries the punk legacy to the masses, and does it very well.
Impact & Legacy: Question(s)
Punk Graphics is focused on the punk, hardcore and post-hardcore eras, but what about legacy? It is well-known that in art, nothing happens spontaneously, so why not prolonging the experience with sneak peaks to the nineties and early 2000s?
That being said, the exhibition covers the wide range of impacts the punk movement had on society, in terms of rights, awareness and exploration of self. Punk Graphics is a clever pretext to de-demonize this cultural momentum who brought so much on the table.
A deeper exploration of the Riot Grrrl movement would have been appreciated, but would also have exceeded the timeline of the rich content already offered.
To conclude.
The nostalgic will fall back in adolescence. The ingenuous will learn the basics. The skeptic will reconsider his views. The curious will strive to learn more. All will go home with a bit of the past in their hearts.
Well played, Punk Graphics.
Punk Graphics, Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die (ADAM Design Museum of Brussels) / Info and directions:
Until April 26th 2020.
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm.
Useful links: Website / Pricing + public transportation / Facebook / Instagram.
“A collection of around 2000 plastic objects (some of which have been exhibited and the rest are conserved in the reserve), from the most every day to unique items or original products to understand the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
A meeting with objects, in particular with those that were part of our daily lives: these objects that seem so ordinary to us, so practical and at the same time without being aware of how or why they were made, and furthermore, without imagining that they would one day become icons of an era, of a way of life and thinking about life.”
Written by Marc Louis-Boyard for Slow Culture.
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