The 1970s
The 1970s were forced to come to terms with the disillusionment the 1960s had left behind. Hippie culture had a vast influence on the United States in the 1970s. The heyday of Haight Ashbury was over but the style and messaging of the counterculture had become commonplace. By the mid-1970s, it was impossible to tell a Republican from a Democrat from a hippie.[1] Everyone wore their hair long and their jeans flared. The hippie idea of connecting with one’s soul and body had evolved into an emphasis on the self. The 1970s was home to the “Me Generation”,[2] a mass focus on self-satisfaction over authentic love for others. The protest T-shirt would enter new areas in the 1970s, simultaneously true to its grassroots origins and further under the boot of commercialism.
Background: uncollected garbage burns on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, 1970s.
Front of slogan T-shirt, 1979
Back of slogan T-shirt, 1979
The outwardly critical nature of the 1960s was still present in the 1970s. The Watergate scandal in 1974 under President Richard Nixon had allowed the masses more freedom to poke fun at higher authority. The jovial attitude was often seen on t-shirts, as people finally shed the fear of being targeted by national intelligence programs by the CIA (CHAOS) and FBI (COINTELPRO).[3] Their participation in the Me Generation was also on full display through their clothing.
T-shirts could now announce to the world the wearer’s perceived intelligence and self-confidence. It was not unusual to see someone wearing an ego inflating or government degrading apparel. By the late 1970s, these T-shirts were easily and widely available. A decade prior, they would only by available for purchase on the streets of the Bay area or hand made. Consumers could now enter could enter a big brand store to find ready-made revolutionary tees, specially targeted to them by marketing agencies on Madison Avenue.[4]
Environmental T-shirts, 1970s. The environmental movement gained traction in the 1970s, with the creation of Earth Day in 1970 and the explosion on 3 Mile Island in Pennsylvania, March 1979.
The T-shirt would also become a statement in the art scene. The screen printing process had been introduced to high art in the 1960s by American pop artist Andy Warhol. In the 1970s screen-printing, T-shirts and high art were combined by one of the most visible couples of the twentieth century; Beatles frontman John Lennon and artist Yoko Ono.
They continued in the tradition of the T-shirt as a means of radical theatrics. The couple had forged a bond based on art, music and the greater understanding of life as they knew it, themes that would resonate in the art they made together.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono saw their honeymoon as an opportunity to protest the Vietnam War. The newlyweds staged the first “Bed-In for Peace” of a series in Amsterdam, March 25, 1969.
This easily recognizable image of John Lennon was taken by rock and roll photographer Bob Gruen on a rooftop in New York City, August, 1974. Gruen states that he payed $5 for the ‘New York City’ T-shirt from street vendors and that Lennon had cut off the sleeves himself. The image itself would become a popular poster and recreations of the t-shirt are still sold today.
The t-shirts Yoko sold at her art shows, asking the viewer to question anything and everything, mirrored this form and added a black background and white text variation.[7]
Much like the billboards and ads, the T-shirt would spread messaging far and wide, disseminated onto an individual level. John and Yoko were not the only revolutionary pair to bring the t-shirt to new heights, as it was a role that was also filled across the ocean in the UK.[8]
December 15, 1971, John and Yoko are photographed in Toronto holding a poster reading ‘WAR IS OVER! If you want it’ as part of their ongoing Campaign for Peace. The message was seen worldwide, with a large billboards and newspaper ads in eleven major cities.
In Toronto, over thirty billboards were plastered throughout the downtown core.[5] In New York City, a billboard was strategically placed across from the Marines recruitment centre in Times Square.[6] The format, a stark white background with bold black lettering would serve as a blueprint for protest T-shirts to come.
“WAR IS OVER! If you want it’ billboard in Times Square, New York City, 1971.
Yoko Ono T-shirts, 1970s.
Background: Promotional video for John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Campaign for Peace.
In London, England, the punk movement was carrying the counterculture of the late 1970s. Similar to the Haight-Ashbury counterculture, punk was only active for a few years. From 1975 to 1978, UK punks were driven by an anxiety about the state of the country. Unemployment hit an all-time high in 1977, amid the worst recession the UK had seen since the 1930s.[9] The punk movement was highly visual, the punk DIY style incorporated everyday objects as apparel. Hair was brightly coloured and spiked, makeup smudged and bodies modified through piercings and tattoos.
While on the surface it appeared to be pure mayhem, it was a scene that was carefully crafted by the architect of punk, Malcolm McLaren. If McLaren was the architect of punk, then his creative partner Vivienne Westwood was the engineer.
Images: Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood in their shop, Seditionaries, late 1970s.
From within the four walls of their shop at 430 King’s Road in London,[10] McLaren conceived of ways to reinvent the T-shirt and Westwood executed his vision. McLaren and Westwood went beyond pushing the envelope, they tore it apart and then stuck it back together. Shirts were soon ripped and fastened with safety pins, adorned with silver studs, and zippers were sown onto women’s shirts over the breast to expose the nipple at the wearers behest.[11][12]
Cambridge Rapist printed shirt, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, 1977-1978
The pair’s T-shirt designs were nothing less than shocking. Using a children’s screen-printing set, the pair exploiting the fear surrounding the then at-large Cambridge Rapist, printed images of nude adolescent boys and nude cowboys. McLaren, having been introduced to the Marxist group Situationist International in his Croyden Art College days, began envisioning Marxist leaders printed onto shirts.[13] The resulting Marxist-anarchist shirt presents philosopher Karl Marx juxtaposed with anarchist slogans. For London in the 1970s, it was all far too egregious, and the pair were arrested for ‘exposing the public view to an indecent exhibition’ and fined fifty pounds.[14] [15]
Destroy printed shirt, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, 1977
The Sex Pistols performing in Norway, 1977. Bassist Johnny Rotten is seen wearing the Cambridge Rapist T-shirt.
The pair also worked closely with artist Jamie Reid to create the signature punk cut-and-paste style as merchandise for The Sex Pistols. As manager for the band, McLaren could evolve the punk style with more anti-authoritarian undertones to evoke stronger reactions.
Back in the United States, the New York Dolls, the Dead Kennedys and Blondie carried the punk torch from New York City, meeting and playing with UK punk icons frequently. The American punk era would evolve into New Wave, a more glam and commercially friendly variant.
The Sex Pistols ‘Anarchy in the UK’ T-shirt in the signature cut-and-paste style, Jamie Reid, 1976
By the late 1970s, it was common to see T-shirts promoting blockbuster movies, the biggest bands of the day and pop culture icons. Athletic companies had also began endorsing their T-shirts with adapted versions of their logos.
The printed T-shirt had grown from a cottage industry, to big business.
The end of the 1970s would sow the seeds of what would become of America in the 1980s. Disillusionment had turned into violence, crime rates skyrocketed, cities were cesspools of illicit activities with little police funding to curb the crime surge. Many in the United States who felt the dreams of the 1960s were doomed from the start demanded a new administration with more stringent values. In 1979, they found the right man; Ronald Reagan. The Reagan administration changed the face of America irreversibly. While America may have received a makeover in the era of the supermodel, it was still wearing a T-shirt.
Continue: The 1980s
Previous: The 1960s
Background: abandoned car in Harlem, New York City, 1975. Getty Images
Notes
[1] Jenkins, Philip. Decade of Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making of Eighties America. (Oxford University Press, 2006) Pg. 27
[2] Schulman, Bruce J. The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture, Society and Politics. (Da Capo Press, 2002) P. 145
[3] Jenkins, Philip. Decade of Nightmares: The End of the Sixties and the Making of Eighties America. Pg. 26
[4] Schulman, Bruce J. The Seventies
[5] Gihring, Tim. Minneapolis Institute of Art. “In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono surprised the world with their legendary “War is Over” campaign. Here’s how it Happened.” artsmia.medium.com. Published 13 Dec, 2019. Accessed 26 Jan, 2021. Par 4.
[6] Grant, Andrew Jackson. Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of the Beatles’ Solo Careers. (Scarecrow Press Inc., 2012) Pg. 49
[7] Gruen, Bob. Ripped: T-Shirts from the Underground. Ed. Cesar Padilla. (New York, NY: Universe Publishing, 2010) Pg. 11
[8] Bully, Sam. “John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s use of slogans on T-shirts.” Slogan T-Shirts: Cult and Culture. Ed. Stephanie Talbot. (London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013) Pg. 22
[9] Savage, John. Jamie Reid. “Punk’s use of slogan t-shirts” Slogan T-Shirts: Cult and Culture. Ed. Stephanie Talbot. Pg. 23
[10] The shop at 430 King’s Road underwent rebranding on multiple occasions in the 1970s. First opened as Let It Rock in 1971-1973, then Too Fast Too Live, Too Young to Die in 1973-1974, SEX 1974-1976, Seditionaries 1976-1980, before Vivienne Westwood opened World’s End at the same location in 1980 where it remains today. Worley, Matthew. “The slogan t-shirt as a subcultural tactic” Slogan T-Shirts: Cult and Culture. Pg. 31
[11] Savage, John. Jamie Reid. “Punk’s use of slogan t-shirts” Slogan T-Shirts: Cult and Culture. Pg. 25-26
[12] Due to rights restrictions, an image of the zipper t-shirt from the MET Costume Institute could not be included in the online exhibit. “T-Shirt: Vivienne Westwood.” 1975-1976. Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Costume Institute. Accession No. 2018.765. Accessed 26 Jan, 2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/789207?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&deptids=8&ft=T-shirt&offset=20&rpp=20&pos=28
[13] Worley, Matthew. “The slogan t-shirt as a subcultural tactic” Slogan T-Shirts: Cult and Culture. Pg. 31
[14] Savage, John. Jamie Reid. “Punk’s use of slogan t-shirts” Slogan T-Shirts: Cult and Culture. Pg. 26
[15] Due to rights restrictions, an image of the anarchist-marxist shirt from the MET Costume Institute could not be included in the online exhibit. “Anarchy Karl Marx Shirt: Vivienne Westwood.” 1976-1977. Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Costume Institute. Accession No. 1985.375.6 Accessed 26 Jan, 2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/789273?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&deptids=8&ft=Vivienne+Westwood&offset=140&rpp=20&pos=157
Images and Media
Uncollected garbage burns on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, 1970s. Baker, Kevin. “Welcome to Fear City’- the inside story of New York’s civil war, 40 years on” The Guardian. Published 18 May, 2015. Accessed Jan 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/18/welcome-to-fear-city-the-inside-story-of-new-yorks-civil-war-40-years-on
79 slogan T-shirt. ‘I…Have Never Been Wrong.” Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 219
Environmental t-shirt, ‘Ask Me About Clean Water’, 1979. Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 351
Environmental T-shirt, ‘3 Mile Island’, 1977.Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 345
Environmental Greenpeace T-shirt, ‘Save the Whales’, 1979. Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 351
John Lennon standing on a rooftop, August 1974. “Inside John Lennon’s in NYC before his 1980 death” nypost.com
John Lennon and Yoko Ono at their “Bed-In for Peace”. “Behind the Photo: How John Lennon and Yoko Ono Came Up with the Idea of Their Bed-In for Peace.” Time.com
“John Lennon and Yoko Ono: War Is Over!” Published by the John Lennon official Youtube Channel. Published Dec 18, 2016. Accessed Jan, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7hxfGf7lyA&t=320s&ab_channel=johnlennon
War is Over billboard, Times Square, New York City, 1971. artsy.net. https://www.artsy.net/artwork/yoko-ono-war-is-over
Yoko Ono T-shirt, ‘Fly’ 1970s. Gruen, Bob. Ripped: T-Shirts form the Underground. Ed. Cesar Padilla. Pg. 9
Yoko Ono T-shirt, ‘Why’ ‘Why Not’, 1970s. Gruen, Bob. Ripped: T-Shirts from the Underground. Ed. Cesar Padilla. Pg. 11
Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren in their shop, Seditionaries, 1970s. Beresford, Jessica. “Vivienne Westwood: A Rebel with a Cause.” The Rake. Accessed Jan, 2021. https://therake.com/stories/icons/vivienne-westwood-rebel-with-a-cause/
Cambridge Rapist T-shirt, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, 1977-1978. From the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Museum Number: T-232.1993. Accessed Jan, 2021. http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O352566/cambridge-rapist-t-shirt-vivienne-westwood/
Destroy printed shirt, Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, 1977. From the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Museum Number: T773-1995. Accessed Jan, 2021. http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O143330/shirt-vivienne-westwood/
The Sex Pistols performing in Norway, 1977. Beresford, Jessica. “Vivienne Westwood: A Rebel with a Cause.” The Rake. Accessed Jan, 2021. https://therake.com/stories/icons/vivienne-westwood-rebel-with-a-cause/
The Sex Pistols, ‘Anarchy in the UK’ cut and paste style t-shirt. Jamie Reid, 1976. From the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Museum Number: S.794-1990 http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1152821/jamie-reid-archive-t-shirt-reid-jamie/
T-shirt promoting the feature film ‘Jaws’, 1975. Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 30
New York Dolls t-shirt, 1970s. Ripped: T-Shirts form the Underground. Ed. Cesar Padilla. Pg. 28
T-shirt promoting the film ‘Clockwork Orange’, 1971. Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 318
The Rolling Stones lips T-shirt, 1979. Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 79
The Who t-shirt, 1973. Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 91
Nike Athletics T-shirt, 1979. Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 181
Blondie t-shirt, 1970s. Ripped: T-Shirts form the Underground. Ed. Cesar Padilla. Pg. 44
Adidas Athletics T-shirt, 1980s. Guetta, Guetta, Nieder. Vintage T-Shirts. (Taschen, 2010) Pg. 181
Abandoned car in Harlem, New York City, 1975. Baker, Kevin. “Welcome to Fear City’- the inside story of New York’s civil war, 40 years on” The Guardian. Published 18 May, 2015. Accessed Jan 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/18/welcome-to-fear-city-the-inside-story-of-new-yorks-civil-war-40-years-on