Press release -
WINSTON SMITH: “Punk Art Surrealist” Brings "Graphic Anarchy" to London | Orbital Comics
WINSTON SMITH IN LONDON THIS SATURDAY - ONE NIGHT ONLY!
A master of "hand-carved" collage, Winston has been crafting his thought-provoking art since the 1970s.
After being abroad for nearly seven years, Winston returned -to America in 1976 and was astonished by the complacency the American public exhibited toward the predominate role of corporate enterprise.
He took notice of the safe and "happy" icons of 1940s & 1950s magazine ads and created politically charged works of art that challenge the viewer to confront the incongruities and political paradoxes of modern society.
Not long after, his collaborations with punk legends Dead Kennedys became widely known and his art beloved for its humor and social commentary. His album covers, inserts and flyers for the band served as a beacon for burgeoning political artists and culture critics.
His technique of cutting out by hand and and gluing each individual element has inspired a generation of artists. In 1981, his political shock piece, Idol (originally conceived in 1977) brazenly adorned the Dead Kennedys album, "In God We Trust, Inc." That album, banned in England and condemned by the American religious right, landed Smith and Dead Kennedys a permanent spot in the punk culture "Hall of Shame."
Even more infamously, the "DK" logo that Smith designed for the band remains the international symbol of protest against authoritarianism, and has been carved on school desks and park benches, spray-painted on walls, immortalized in sidewalk cement and tattooed on skin all over the world since its conception in 1980.
Smith is also responsible for the famous Alternative Tentacles logo for frontman Jello Biafra's record label.
The visual left hooks that Smith threw into the underground punk scene in the 1970s and `80s have since impacted a much wider audience world wide. He has designed over 50 album covers for such bands and cultural icons as Green Day, Burning Brides, Ben Harper, George Carlin and many more...
IN LONDON FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY AT ORBITAL COMICS
MORE INFO: WinstonSmith.com
Contact: winstonsmithart@gmail.com
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The Dirty Water Club started in October 1996 in the Tufnell Park neighbourhood of north London, at a venue called The Boston. The club's name is derived from The Standells' 1966 hit 'Dirty Water' which glorifies the US city of Boston, Massachusetts.
Past performers have included The White Stripes (voted by Q Magazine as one of the top 10 gigs of all time, Mojo one of the top 30 and Kerrang one of the top 100!), The Gories, Country Teasers, Black Lips, NOBUNNY, Kid Congo Powers, The Fleshtones, Billy Childish, Radio Birdman, The Dirtbombs, Thee Michelle Gun Elephant, The 5.6.7.8's, The Horrors and The Brian Jonestown Massacre to name just a few. The club has also seen some original '60s performers, such as The Monks, ? and the Mysterians, Kim Fowley, Sky Saxon, GONN, Michael Davis of the MC5 and more grace its stage.
Their in-house record label, Dirty Water Records, is one of the leading garage/beat/(real) R&B labels in the world.
