Frank Kozik’s concert poster art represents the attitude of the grunge music scene. It’s garish, in your face, and unabashedly unsettling. His use of icons and popular imagery can be seen in great graphics that represent the intensity of the music.
He was credited with reviving concert poster art following the stagnation that happened after the popular wave of 1960s psychedelic posters. His success was due, in part, to the growing underground punk rock scene in Austin, Texas, during the early 1980s. When local promotors started noticing that concerts promoted by his art drew larger crowds, Kozik became a fixture at area clubs as the in-demand artist.
A defining moment in his career happened when Kozik designed a poster for the duo Chris & Cosey. The poster depicted a photograph of a World War II victim, cementing his reputation for using cultural imagery with a derisive attitude.
During the late ’80s his work featured very bright, Day-Glo colors. He had a reputation for sullying pop cultural icons, including putting Fred Flintstone in the punk style of Sid Vicious and Lee Harvey Oswald as a rocker. He shocked some by putting Adolf Hitler and Charles Manson on posters and didn’t shy away from cringe-worthy motifs like crucifixions or bondage. One of his favorite motifs was that of the Devil Girl, meant to simultaneously represent attraction and fear of women.
The rise of grunge in the early ’90s was a great fit for his style. He created posters for a lot of musicians including Nirvana, Beastie Boys, Neil Young, Green Day, Pearl Jam, and the White Stripes. The rock concert art revival made its way into mainstream media, and he was considered to be a leader of the new group of artists.
In addition to concert posters, he started Man’s Ruin Records in ’95 featuring limited pressings with lavish packaging. Once he ended that business, Kozik worked in fine art, design, and in art for toys.
Learn more about Kozik and other artists by ordering a copy of The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Concert Posters from gemstonepub.com.
