Alan Aldridge

Whilst looking into postmodernism at college, we were asked to do some research into the historical context of an illustrator from either the 60's, 70's or 80's or 90's. Whilst trying t think of illustrators from those periods, I was reminded of an exhibition I saw in London a couple of years ago by Alan Aldridge, so I thought it might be interesting to do some research into him again.

Styles of Design - at the time during the 60's and 70's due to drug culture, there was a resurgence in the swirling patterns of art Nouveau, as it worked well with the idea of psychedelia and hallucinations. There was also a strong use of bright colours that linked to this.

Fashions - There was use of bold colours and patterns again in the 60's and 70's when it came to clothes fashion. There was a lot more freedom with fashion than in post war 50's, and a lot more experimentation.

Music, Films etc. - At the time, and one of the influences on Aldridge's, The Beatles were huge. During the 60's, The Beatles were very influential and their changing style of music captured the changes of the time. In terms of television and film, colour TV was the big thing of the 70's. The influx of colour was a predominant theme during the 60's and 70's. Both TV and film became more imaginative, there was a rise in sitcoms, crime shows and science fiction.  Think Star Trek, The Hulk etc. Because of things like the moon landing in 1969, there was an increased interest in science and the future and this resulted in films like 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and A Clockwork Orange (1971).

I've posted some of Aldridge's work below...