Editing Black Flag (band) (section)

==Iconography==
[[File:Black Flag logo.svg|thumb|200px|right|The band's name and logo were given by artist [[Raymond Pettibon]] to symbolize their themes of rebellion and anarchy. As the band gained popularity the logo was [[graffiti]]ed in and around Los Angeles, drawing the attention of the police to the band's activities.<ref name="Azerrad, 21.">Azerrad, 21.</ref>]]
Black Flag's visual imagery and artwork complemented the themes found in the band's music. Greg Ginn's brother Raymond Ginn, under the pseudonym [[Raymond Pettibon]], created the artwork for all of the band's studio releases with the exceptions of ''[[Damaged (Black Flag album)|Damaged]]'' and the "[[TV Party (EP)|TV Party]]" single, as well as providing artwork for the band members to transform into merchandise and gig [[flyer (pamphlet)|flyers]].<ref name="Azerrad, 51.">Azerrad, 51.</ref> When the band found it necessary to change their name from Panic in 1978, it was Pettibon who suggested the new name Black Flag and designed their iconic logo: four vertical black rectangles comprising a stylized rippling black flag. The logo evoked a number of meanings: it was the polar opposite of a [[white flag]] of surrender, as well as a symbol for [[anarchism]] and a traditional emblem of [[piracy|pirates]].<ref name="Azerrad, 19.">Azerrad, 19.</ref> At the same time, Rollins disavowed the claim that the logo represented anarchy, stating in a 1985 interview that it means "Anything that you want it to. I guess it's the opposite of the white flag too, which is the flag of surrender. A lot of people think that it means 'Anarchy' but it doesn't."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cummings |first=Chris |date=1985 |title=Black Flag (Interview) |url=https://archive.org/details/BombFactoryNumber3AnchorageAK/page/n3/mode/1up |journal=Bomb Factory |issue=3 |quote=Q; What does Black Flag mean?; Henry: Anything you want it to. . . . |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

As the band gained popularity the logo was [[graffiti]]ed on numerous highway [[overpass]]es and other public and private surfaces in and around Los Angeles, drawing the attention of the authorities and contributing to an increase in police presence at Black Flag shows.<ref name="Azerrad, 21." />

Pettibon's artwork for the band's albums and flyers was equally stark and confrontational. He typically worked in one panel using only [[pen and ink]], so the message conveyed had to be direct and powerful due to lack of space and color.<ref name="Azerrad, 51." /> According to [[Michael Azerrad]] in ''[[Our Band Could Be Your Life]]'', the artwork "was a perfect visual analogue to the music it promoted – gritty, stark, violent, smart, provocative, and utterly American."<ref name="Azerrad, 51." /> It also provided a cerebral aspect to the band's image: as the mainstream media caricatured Black Flag as a mindlessly aggressive act, the pairing of their music with high-concept artwork hinted at a greater intelligence at work that was unknown to outsiders.<ref name="Azerrad, 51." />

[[Henry Rollins]], in his journal collection ''[[Get in the Van]]'', notes that Pettibon's artwork became synonymous with Black Flag and that before Rollins joined the band he would collect photocopies of their flyers that had circulated from California to Washington, D.C.<ref>Rollins, ''Get in the Van'', 3.</ref> The album cover for ''[[Nervous Breakdown (EP)|Nervous Breakdown]]'' had a particularly strong impact on Rollins: "The record's cover art said it all. A man with his back to the wall baring his fists. In front of him another man fending him off with a chair. I felt like the guy with his fists up every day of my life."<ref>Rollins, ''Get in the Van'', 9.</ref> [[File:Black Flag Police Story sticker.jpg|thumb|left|Pettibon's drawing of a police officer being held at gunpoint was used on flyers and merchandise promoting the "Police Story" single. The speech blurb reads "Make me come, faggot!" The text to the left reads "Art: Chuck Higby", a pseudonym.<ref name="Azerrad, 21." />]] Another image which drew considerable attention was the artwork created for the "Police Story" single, showing a police officer being held with a gun in his mouth with the speech blurb "Make me come, faggot!" The image was plastered on flyers all around Los Angeles and added to the police pressure on the band.<ref name="Azerrad, 21." /> Pettibon later remarked that "my values are relativistic, and I'll give a cop the benefit of the doubt. If that's me with my [[gun|gat]] – my gat's larger than the one depicted – we can have a discussion, and he can answer me just as well with my [[.357 Magnum|.357]] barrel in his mouth, or on his cheek, or on his [[adenoid]]s, or down his throat. I'll listen to his whimpering cries."<ref name="Swindle">{{cite web| last =Penalty| first =Jeff| author-link =Jeff Penalty| title =Raymond Pettibon| work =Swindle| year =2008| url =http://swindlemagazine.com/issueicons/raymond-pettibon/| access-date =2008-02-10| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080213210508/http://swindlemagazine.com/issueicons/raymond-pettibon/| archive-date =February 13, 2008| df =mdy-all}}</ref>

After joining the band Rollins would sometimes watch Pettibon draw, admiring his work ethic and the fact that he did not make telephone calls or sit for interviews.<ref>Rollins, ''Get in the Van'', 173.</ref> The drawings themselves rarely bore a direct connection to the music or its lyrical themes. Pettibon himself recalls that:

{{blockquote|These drawings just represented what I was thinking. Except for a few instances, the flyers weren't done as commercial art or advertising. You could have stuck anything on a [[photocopier|photocopy machine]] and put the band name and made an advertising flyer, but these weren't done like that. I was vehement about that as much as my personality allowed.<ref name="We Got the Neutron Bomb">{{cite book| last =Spitz| first =Mark| author-link =Mark Spitz| editor =Brendan Mullen| title =We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk| publisher =[[Three Rivers Press]]| year =2001| location =New York City| pages =[https://archive.org/details/wegotneutronbomb00marc/page/198 198–199]| url =https://archive.org/details/wegotneutronbomb00marc/page/198| isbn =0-609-80774-9| url-access =registration}}</ref>}}

Pettibon also sold [[pamphlet]] books of his work through [[SST Records|SST]], with titles such as ''Tripping Corpse'', ''New Wave of Violence'', and ''The Bible, the Bottle, and the Bomb'', and did artwork for other SST acts such as [[Minutemen (band)|Minutemen]].<ref name="Azerrad, 51." />

In order to adapt Pettibon's artwork to meet the layout requirements of their albums and flyers, the members of Black Flag would alter it by cutting and pasting and adding their name, logo, and gig details to it. They would then make photocopies and put up dozens of flyers to promote their shows. Rollins recalls going out on a flyering mission with roadie Mugger in 1981 in which the pair would put a layer of [[adhesive|paste]] onto a [[utility pole|telephone pole]], stick up the flyer, and then cover it with an additional coat of paste so that it would last for up to a year. The band members and their crew would do this for miles around, using dozens of flyers to promote a single performance.<ref>Rollins, ''Get in the Van'', 21.</ref> Pettibon, however, did not always appreciate the band's treatment of his art, which he provided to them largely for free.<ref name="Azerrad, 54.">Azerrad, 54.</ref> <blockquote>"To me my work was the equivalent of a band like Black Flag or any other band who was righteously self-protective of recordings. I would give them original art and it would come back to me scrawled upon and taped over or [[correction fluid|whited out]], and I'd always ask nicely, 'Could you please make a copy of this first and then do that?' Their master tapes were deemed sacrosanct, while my work was seen as completely disposable, but I'm not venting or complaining, just stating fact."<ref name="We Got the Neutron Bomb" /></blockquote> Pettibon also felt pigeonholed by his association with the band, and had a falling out with them in 1985 over artwork used on the cover of the ''[[Loose Nut]]'' album, which had been used for a flyer several years earlier. Ginn resurrected it without telling his brother and turned it over to drummer [[Bill Stevenson (musician)|Bill Stevenson]] to do the layout, who cut it into pieces and used them as elements for the cover and lyric sheet. Pettibon became irate and he and Ginn stopped speaking for some time, although his artwork continued to be used for the remainder of the band's career.<ref name="Azerrad, 54." />