Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die: Punk Graphics, 1976-1986

Since its rebellious inception in the 1970s, punk has always exhibited very visual forms of expression, from the dress and hairstyles of its devotees and the on-stage theatrics of its musicians, to the graphic design of its numerous forms of printed matter. More than forty years after punk exploded onto the music scenes of New York and London, its impact on the larger culture is still being felt. Born in a period of economic malaise, punk’s energy coalesced into a powerful subcultural phenomenon that transcended music to affect other fields, and especially graphic design. Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die explores the visual language of punk through hundreds of its most memorable graphics, from the shocking remixes of expropriated images and texts to the DIY zines and flyers that challenged the commercial slickness of the mainstream media. Arranged thematically, the exhibition was the largest of its kind, and it explores various visual design strategies and techniques, as well as the influences of myriad genres.

Chris recognized the seminal role that graphic design played in establishing the ethos of punk, and as Director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum, green lighted the research and development of the exhibition, which was first presented at Cranbrook Art Museum in 2018, and later at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York in 2019. Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die: Punk Graphics, 1976-1986, was organized by Cranbrook Art Museum and curated by Andrew Blauvelt, Director, and Steffi Duarte, Jeanne and Ralph Graham Collections Fellow