EXHIBITION OPENING--FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 5-8PM

 

BOOK RELEASE PARTY--FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 7-9PM

 

Docent Guided Exhibition Tours Every First and Third Saturday & Sunday, 3p

 

White Glove Test is a rich visual history of an ephemeral and overlooked art form: the DIY concert poster. Beautiful, funny, and profane, the more than 500 collected flyers vividly represent the golden age of this fugitive street art, revealing a neglected facet of punk's expressive force.

 

This exhibition documents Louisville's vibrant and diverse music scene from 1978 to 1994 offering an insider's view of one seminal community's rise from bold beginnings to eminent international status. Clipped, collaged, meticulously hand­painted and lettered, or designed using early versions of desktop publishing software, these photocopied flyers were outsider broadcasts stuck to phone poles and storefronts; a makeshift gallery installed with staple guns and wheat paste.

 

The exhibition is organized in conjunction with the release of the book of the same title White Glove Test: Louisville Punk Flyers 1978­1994 produced by independent record label Drag City. The book features images of rare original flyers from seminal groups like No Fun and the Babylon Dance Band to breakout bands like Squirrel Bait and Slint. The exhibition and accompanying publication illuminates a vital style of pre­Internet social media appealing to any fan of independent music in Louisville and beyond.

 

The book was published by Drag City and edited by Mike Bucayu, Stephen Driesler, Tim Furnish, John Kampschaefer, Douglas Maxson, Shawn Severs. "White Glove Test" is available here.