Ikonoklast Movement
Image source Ikonoklast Movement
A renegade collective of artists - the Ikonoklast Movement formed in 1989.
The Ikonoklast Movement, founded in 1989, embodied a new manifesto that escaped the constraints of linear letter/ character compositions directly derivative of N.Y.C. style writing.
This manifesto, while not intending to disrupt the UK graffiti writing community often received a hostile, sometimes violent, reaction from traditional graffiti practitioners. Their response was largely due to the Ikonoklast’s unorthodox spray paint approach.
The ‘Ikonoklast’ title was inspired from the 16th century reformation, a dissolution of tradition, led by Henry VIII. The term also honours the theories of the late N.Y.C. artist Ramm:Ell:Zee, by spelling Ikonoklast with two K’s, replacing the letter C’s, in line with his militarised letter theories.
Founded in the late 1980’s the movement of graffiti ‘style writing’ was in decline. This was largely due to the end of mass transit art in N.Y.C. & the rise of acid house music in the UK. Searching for new ways of working, a small gathering of similarly minded UK & European artists collectively decided to ‘break the rules’ in favour of creating their own autonomous visual language & identities.
