The concept of
style was to play a great role in the communication of counter culture,
specifically subcultures and their attributes within visual communication.
Counter culture is conceived from dissatisfaction with the mainstream, the
popular culture, in this sense, every subculture is an example of counter
culture; the unnaceptance of the mainstream. Counter[KW1] culture is, just as subcultures are, an ideology, which is to be
represented through communication. The tools to communicate this ideology can
be studied in order to determine how technology has influenced this
communication. This writing is primarily going to focus on the translation of
counter culture into the publishing of editorial practice, predominantly
starting in the 70’s to the contemporary, although discussion of the
development of technology which has influenced and dictated visual
communication is to be discussed amongst earlier examples of counter culture
and the development of culture capital.
Examples of the appropriation relate independent
publications and music well; in this case, punk. To dissect punk is start with
an ideology and then investigate how this ideology was translated in various
mediums, music predominantly, fashion, behavior amongst other communications,
visual and audial, of the ideology.
Technologies, such as print, digital and
their distribution methods themselves depend upon resources, time and money
predominantly, although skillsets and accessibility are also considerable
factors in relation to the form of visual communication. As mentioned
previously, the use of blue course paper by peasants in the production of
chapbooks or the Punks using a cut and paste process to reduce production
costs, as well as communicating a subversive message, evidence this dependence
upon resource and resources dictating production and consequently, visual
communication.
Every subculture forms an aesthetic, a way
to identify and acknowledge fellow peers, to be united evidently by appearance;
ideology cannot be evident unless translated visually. The origin of a
subculture’s ideology will be dictated by context, the political, social and
ethical issues of the time:
“To ignore the obvious connections between
the Punk phenomenon and economic and social inequalities in Great Britain would
be to deny the validity of the philosophical underpinnings of the movement
consisting of underprivileged working-class white youths. Many of them felt
their social situation deeply and used the medium of Punk to express their
dissatisfaction” (Young, T, 1989 p8 cited in O’Hara, 1999 p 26-27)
In this sense, context dictates visual
communication, through a chain of interpretations, from the physic to physical;
Context dictates ideology, which is then communicated through adherence to the
technologies and resources available at the time to the individual or
collective in accumulation to inform visual communication.
The authorship
granted to the common man and specifically, subculture and the counter culture
inclined, by the accessibility of publishing technologies allowed
self-expression of such ideologies, publishing was used as a tool to
communicate ideology[KW2] authorship destabilizes oppressive, anonymous texts while
legitimizing text to be used a tool to communicate agenda.
Context – Ideology – Resources – Technology
= Visual Language
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