Acid House movement and its influence on art


rave on  joel sleet

The famous 80s sub-genre Acid House, is an iconic style of house music incorporating a deep bassline synthesizer and trancing, hypnotic lyrics. With artists such as Phuture, DJ Pierre and 808 State carving the way for many artists to adopt this psychedelic form of house music.

Since the beginning of the Acid House revolution, many digital and street artists have depicted the iconic smiling symbol and other key aspects of the genre such as the musical talents of the Acid house musicians and the psychedelic connotations linked with it. The notorious smiley face also commonly resembles the anti-war movement that was very prominent during the 80s, during a time of social and cultural revolution, being a key symbol for peace and freedom. This can be seen by artists such as Joel Sleet in his ‘Rave On’ 90s Acid House poster or art depicting the ‘Drop Acid Not Bombs’ anti-war and pro-peace movements during the 80s.

Similar to the effects of other music genres at the time, Acid House also supported anti-establishment views and wanted to break barriers of conformity, to entertain rave culture and rebel against the mainstream hate towards partying and the youth of the 80s. I have been particularly inspired by various acid house artists and the influence this musical era has had on modern culture.; This has been shown in a variety of my newest pieces including the ‘High Five defaced note’ and the ‘Happy face ’88 defaced note’ both showcasing the iconic smiley face with the ‘High Five’ note homing in on the idea of anti-establishment making the acid house symbol the forefront of the piece, overshadowing the typical bank note and the Queens typically prominent image on the note.