John R. Davis

@jrdarchivist.bsky.social

687 Followers 222 Following

Archivist, musician, curator, writer, DJ on WOWD My book, "Keep Your Ear to the Ground: A History of Punk Fanzines in Washington, D.C.", is out now: https://press.georgetown.edu/Book/Keep-Your-Ear-to-the-Ground

Alt text for a black-and-white benefit concert flier for the Homeless Persons Representation Project. The flier is organized into two main columns. The left column features four distinct, high-contrast woodcut or linocut-style illustrations stacked vertically. The right column contains the event text. Left Column Illustrations: Top: A graphic titled "HOMELESSNESS" showing several figures huddled on the ground in front of a city skyline. Second: A man holding a large hammer stands in front of a boarded-up building. A speech bubble asks, "WHAT ARE PEOPLE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?" Third: A scene of a protest or riot with figures raising their fists toward a giant, angry face in the background. Bottom: The words "DO Some thing." in a large, scratchy, hand-drawn font. Right Column Text: Top: "Homeless Persons Representation Project which brings crucial legal services to homeless people in Baltimore's streets and shelters." Band Lineup: Fugazi, Lungfish, and the Crainium (printed in large, bold italicized serif font). Event Details: * 7pm Tuesday May 12, 1998 $5 all-ages Teamsters' Union Hall, 6000 Erdman Avenue, Baltimore, MD Ticket Info: Notes that tickets go on sale April 29th at Reptilian, Soundgarden, and Vinyl Ink. More info: Positive Force DC. Bottom Right: The tagline "be more than a witness" in a lowercase serif font.
A graphic with bold, slanted text on a solid medium-blue background. The entire layout is tilted at a sharp 45-degree angle, ascending from the left to the right. The text consists of: Top Left: The phrase "THIS YEAR'S MODEL" in a clean, white, all-caps serif font. The words are stacked in three rows. Center/Right: The year "2014" is featured in a significantly larger, vibrant red serif font. The numerals are tall and prominent, anchoring the right side of the design and contrasting sharply against the blue and white elements.
A promotional graphic for the 2026 DC Queer Studies Symposium, titled "REFUSE / REMOVE / REMEMBER." The image features a striking, high-contrast design split between a solid black background on the left and a textured, collage-style background on the right. Key Design Elements: Main Title: The words "REFUSE / REMOVE / REMEMBER" are stacked in large, white, distressed typewriter-style font, dominating the left side of the graphic. Above them, "2026 DC QUEER STUDIES SYMPOSIUM" is written in a smaller, clean white font. Imagery: On the right, a scrap of lined paper with burnt edges overlaps a black background. A glass jar filled with matches is pictured, corked with twine. A hand-drawn cardboard tag with a burning match illustration is tied to the jar. Logos: * Top Right: The "Indigenous Futures Lab" logo and the "Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies" logo appear on a circular paper scrap. Bottom Left: Logos for the University of Maryland Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Bottom Center: Logo for the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center.
A graphic featuring bold, slanted text against a solid blue background. The entire design is tilted at roughly a 45-degree angle, rising from the bottom left toward the top right. The text is arranged in two distinct sections: Top Left: The words "THIS'S YEAR'S MODEL" are stacked in three lines of white, capitalized serif font. The letters are tightly spaced, creating a compact block of text. Center/Right: The number "1991" is printed in a much larger, bright red serif font, dominating the lower half of the composition and overlapping slightly with the word "MODEL."
A vintage hardcover book jacket for The Master and Other Stories by Sue Kaufman. The design is minimalist, featuring large, overlapping serif typography set against a plain light gray or off-white background. The text colors alternate between a muted red and a dark teal or black: Top: The author's name SUE KAUFMAN is printed in large red capital letters. Center: The title THE MASTER AND OTHER STORIES is arranged in a staggered, overlapping layout using both dark teal and red ink. Bottom: In smaller, clean black serif font, it reads, "By the author of DIARY of a MAD HOUSEWIFE and FALLING BODIES."
A sepia-toned book cover for The Easter Parade by Richard Yates. The background features a vintage photograph of a woman wearing an elaborate, wide-brimmed hat with a delicate polka-dot veil partially obscuring her face. She is adorned with pearls and floral details, evoking a mid-20th-century aesthetic. The text is layered over the image in a classic, elegant serif font: Top: The title THE EASTER PARADE is prominently displayed in large capital letters. Center: Below the title, it reads "A NOVEL" in a smaller font. Bottom Center: The author’s name, RICHARD YATES, is written in large bold capitals, followed by the subtext "AUTHOR OF REVOLUTIONARY ROAD." Bottom: A quote from TIME magazine at the very bottom describes the book as "invigorating and gripping... a literary achievement." Left Edge: A small vertical black bar contains the "PICADOR" publisher logo.
A collage-style black-and-white punk flier for a benefit show, dominated by a large, diagonal graphic of a 1-liter Coca-Cola bottle. The design uses a mix of cut-and-paste text, hand-drawn lettering, and photocopied elements. The text and details are layered throughout the composition: Top Right: The headliners TEEN IDLES are written in large, scratchy, hand-drawn letters, followed by BAD BRAINS in cut-out letters and ENZYMES in a cursive script. Bottom Right: Additional bands UNTOUCHABLES (in a stencil font) and TRU FAX + INSANIACS written by hand are listed. Left Side: A price tag graphic lists "$3.00 or $4.00." Below the bottle label, it reads "BENEFIT AT MADAM'S ORGAN, 2318 18th St. NW." Bottom Left: A March 1980 calendar is shown with 14 and 15 circled. Tiny illustrations of figures on bicycles are positioned above the dates. Small Details: Various "14th" and "15th" markers are scattered on the right, including a clock face pointing to 10:00 and a "15" inside a hand-drawn TV or box.
A high-contrast, black-and-white photocopied punk flier with a grainy, DIY aesthetic. The flier is promoting an upcoming concert. The image features a central photograph of four young men standing in a doorway, playfully holding up oversized coffee mugs. The photo is heavily stylized with a "blown-out" photocopied effect, creating sharp black shadows and bright white highlights. The text is arranged as follows: Top: The band name GRAY MATTER is written in a large, aggressive, jagged, hand-drawn typeface. Top Right: The band name EMBRACE appears in a clean, sans-serif block typeface tucked under the main Gray Matter logo, indicating billing for the concert. Bottom Left: Three stacked text boxes in a clean sans-serif font list the show details: THURS MARCH 13 930 CLUB $4.00
A lo-fi, DIY concert flier printed on green paper with a distressed, splattered aesthetic. Black ink splatters and smudges cover the page, including a prominent set of fingerprints near the bottom center. The text is arranged as follows: Top left: The band names EDSEL, MO PAGANS, and SHUDDER TO THINK are printed in a classic serif font. Center: The words "aRT wOrk" are stamped in a blocky, typewriter-style font amidst the splatters. Bottom right (handwritten): A small handwritten note reads "1413 P St." Bottom edge: Event details are printed in a large serif font: "$5, 8pm ; 3.12 at BBQ IG."
Shelving filled with boxes in an archival collections room. The back wall in the photo is an art rack with several framed items hanging from it.
Flier for a concert featuring various images cut and pasted into the artwork, done in the detournement style popular within punk rock -- Below a large hand-drawn logo for the Slinkees is an image of several people holding long guns. Below that are several clipped images, including a calendar for August 1979, a picture of Cap'n Crunch, a watch, a six pack of beer, an outline of Africa, and a photo of a young girl looking at the camera.
Flier promoting an indie rock concert with clip art of a hand placing a coin into a smiling piggy bank.
A display case at a movie theater featuring numerous fliers created in the 1980s to promote punk concerts in the Washington, D.C. area. A poster in the center of the display is current and promotes a July film series of D.C. punk documentary films screening at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland.
An abstract sketch of the human form used to promote a concert by the Washington, D.C. punk band, Rites of Spring. The words "Revolution Summer" are near the drawing, indicating that the concert was thought of as the informal beginning to Revolution Summer, a movement within D.C. punk to fight for social justice and to revive the local punk scene.
A woman stands facing the camera, her left leg propped on an American flag laid flat on a table. Also on top of the flag is a photograph print of a portrait of a man.
A collage featuring flowers and a person with long dark hair wearing sunglasses and a cigarette in their mouth and an American flag draped over their shoulder.