![]() Rat Fink would be one in a series of unmistakable caricatures from Roth through the 60’s, including Drag Nut and Mr. Soon enough, you couldn’t be a part of Kustom Kulture without seeing the backstabbing varmint on t-shirts, keychains, decals, and so much more. The design immediately caught on, and exploded. Roth debuted Rat Fink with an ad in a car magazine in 1963, but that would only be the beginning. No matter how feral Rat Fink’s design appears, the satirical edge of Roth’s intent is always there to serve as a self-reflexive wink, creating a sense of solace for the counterculture without ever pandering to a wider market. He is usually drawn behind the wheel of either a car or motorcycle with the engine roaring, and even when he isn’t, you can tell by the look in his eyes that he’s up to some kind of mischief. While echoes of Mickey can still be seen in the ears and nose, this still comes across clearly as a new beast. Usually colored green or gray, the rat is known for having a dramatically exaggerated body shape to capture his depravity including a twisted smile, eyes bulging out of their sockets, and rows of sharp, crooked teeth. Rat Fink embodies everything that makes Roth’s style so simultaneously kooky and clever. As a response to Mickey Mouse’s chipper demeanor, Rat Fink - the inverse of everything cutesy, sanitized, and family friendly - was born. Seeing that poverty and suffering in the world were largely ignored by consumer culture, Ed Roth felt the same way. If this sappy, utopian portrait of life makes you want to barf, don’t worry. Life in a Disney movie is cheery, carefree, and upbeat, with any problem being easily solvable in the length of a motion picture. The expansive pop culture effect of Walt Disney’s films was his primary inspiration. We’ll break it all down for you right here.Īfter selling airbrushed t-shirts for a few years at the end of the 1950s, Roth would come up with the idea for Rat Fink. ![]() If you don’t know the history of one of Kustom Kulture’s most underappreciated figures, just keep on reading. You’ve more than likely seen shirts and patches indebted to Roth’s signature style, or even featuring one of his designs, including from us. His work as a custom car designer was defining in the Southern California scene, but it was his playfully malformed monster caricatures like Rat Fink that led to his now cult status as a pop-art iconoclast. ![]() Our love for the rat extends to a love for his creator, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. In fact, we love that gnarly little creature and the mayhem he represents so much, that he just might be our number one choice. If Rat Fink wasn’t one of the images that just appeared in your head, you may want to reconsider your answer, at least if you’re in earshot of anyone in the Lethal Threat family. Explore the blend of artworks and ephemera that break convention and dare to push back.Take a moment to think about the iconography from hot rod and biker culture that holds the most significance. Born from tattoos, comic strips, and art, images say something about us and our “variety of attitudes,” from clothing, to graffiti, to a designed skate deck. ![]() The idea of adopting art to say something about ourselves carries on in our everyday lives. This exhibition explores the impact that impulse has had on American culture. Roth took his car paint-gun and sprayed Rat Fink on a white shirt, becoming one of the first and most influential people to create a graphic t-shirt. The plain white tee became a symbol of rebels, donned by James Dean in Rebel Without A Cause and Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire. T-shirts had been around as underwear since the late 1800s but were not worn as outer clothing until soldiers began returning from World War II in the 1940s. Sitting at L.A.’s Apollo restaurant in 1958, he drew Rat Fink on a napkin in reaction to Disney’s Fantasia, which had recently been re-released. Roth is perhaps best-known for creating Rat Fink, the anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. The very first set of Hot Wheels cars featured Roth’s Beatnik Bandit, a futuristic hot rod with a bubble canopy. He sculpted the first fiberglass car, the first trike, and created Choppers Magazine, the first customized motorcycle publication which is still in print today. Anytime we wear a graphic t-shirt, hang a poster, or slap a sticker on our water bottles, we join the spirit of Rat Fink using art to say something about who we are.Įd Roth was a pioneer, blazing new trails in custom cars, cartooning, and pinstriping. From t-shirts to skateboards, album covers to custom cars, pin-striping to contemporary art, Big Daddy Roth’s legacy lives on. Ed “Big Daddy” Roth drew Rat Fink to make the first airbrushed graphic t-shirt, creating and displaying identity and community for the wearers. ![]() Rat Fink emerged post-World War II as a foil to Mickey Mouse, capturing and spouting an attitude counter to mainstream culture. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |