Compose two styles

Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.

How to divide the work

Composition
Follow Grapus: A large photograph beneath, lettering and scrawl laid over the margins
Type
Set in Grapus's manner (Headlines written directly with brush or marker, slant and bleed kept), and let Punk's lettering (Mix newsprint letters, handwriting and stamps) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
Material
Ground in Grapus's material (Splatter and finger marks kept in the plate, plus one fluorescent ink); bring in exactly one thing from Punk (Copier paper, tears, black plus a warning color).
Colour
Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #eee3cf, #ef3127, #10100f.

Where they fight

These two are already listed as related, so the join should come easily.

Caution

  • Grapus Manufacturing the roughness with a filter removes the necessity of the hand, and what remains is a costume of political heat that trivializes the subject.
  • Punk Borrowed rebellion is hollow. Decide what you are protesting first.

Image prompt

An original image that takes its structure from Grapus (Style, 1970–1991) and its accent from Punk (Style, 1970s–1980s). Structural cues: Rough hand-drawn lettering; Splatter and graffiti; Interventions on photographs; Anonymous collective authorship. Accent cues, used sparingly: Cut-and-paste letters; Photocopier noise; Handwriting; Ragged placement. Composition: A large photograph beneath, lettering and scrawl laid over the margins. Type and lettering: Headlines written directly with brush or marker, slant and bleed kept. Let one material quality come from the second style: Copier paper, tears, black plus a warning color. Mood: Rebellion, Play, Exhilaration. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #eee3cf, #ef3127, #10100f. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.

Related entries

  • Grapus 1970–1991 / Style / Regional Graphics

    The French collective was born out of May '68. Hand-scrawled letters, splatters and graffiti over photographs brought a festive roughness to posters for politics, theater and city halls, and made resistance to polish into a style.

  • Punk 1970s–1980s / Style / Counterculture

    A DIY objection to the authority of the tidy, made by cutting, pasting and dirtying.

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