Retro Nostalgia

Greetings. My name is Stephen and I'm a 4th year interdisciplinary student. I draw, paint, animate and illustrate. I've been an illustrator, a teacher and a truck driver and done lots of things so far. I've written and illustrated books for children, and generally love doing conceptual ideas. I love a little bit of everything. It's my last year at NSCAD, and soon I'll be on my way.

I guess the only way to describe "retro" for me, in terms of design, would be a combination of different points of view: one of nostalgia, one of aesthetics, and one of an attitude in a specific time period. Let me explain...

When I think of the word "retro", I think of a "look" linking a feeling that reminds me (or others my age) of the recent past. Most friends and acquaintances I know, including myself, are the generation "X" age group, and if you utter the word "retro" it brings a nostalgic smile to our faces. It pretty much reminds us of the times and styles going on in the 70s and 80s when we were growing up. The cold war was on, and it didn't seem like it was ever going to go away. There was this feeling of hope that society would get better and more advanced down the road: lifestyles would be easier as technology advanced. Somehow the feeling in the air was NOT that everything had been done before, and there was still so much to explore and discover and invent. There was no internet, and no level of globalization as we know it today. If you went to a university and got a degree, you could get a good job. The worst thing young people like myself could do at that time (that was strictly taboo), was to sneak a few beers with you and your freinds when your folks weren't home....and have a cigarette or two after school. If you did that, you were one bad-assed rebel!!! If you were a man, you let your hair grow long and you had a pony tail, one ear-ring in your left ear, and you were into bands like Tears For Fears, Platinum Blond, Depeche Mode, or Duran Duran. The Atari 2600 video game system was the thing to have and Pac-Man was the game to play. Going out meant you wore a sport coat that had a little extra padding on the shoulders. There was a big push to wear brand names, and most people dressed to look "classy" or "preppy"......I could go on and on.

Not much of anything from the "retro" years is alive today in terms of what people did, our attitudes to life and each other, and the clothes we wore. As mentioned earlier, sport coats had extra shoulder padding, and despite putting a nostalgic smile to my face, I wince at the thought of them as well. Good lord!!! Did I really wear that stuff back then?.....Yep.

But those times were mostly good times. People seemed easier to "see" and understand on the surface back then. Personalities you met seemed to feel more distinct and felt clearer to identify. Myself personally, I generally didn't feel as much contempt for difference from people as compared to today. You only needed one job during the summer to pay for a year's university tuition....and you still had enough to go out with friends for a few movies. And you could always find a job....and it would NOT demand your heart, body, mind and soul like many jobs with companies seem to do today by comparison. There were so much fewer hoops to jump through, and life didn't seem so endlessly and hopelessly competitive as it does today. It was a time of fun, and a time of economic progress for the most extent. I remember it and wish it was back. Retro to me is nostalgia, through and through. Upon seeing things that still can be used today, like an older car from that era, it reminds of my years during adolescence, and learning to drive. I grew up unafraid and feeling safe in my rebelliousness.

Take this car here for example: a 1988 Nissan Pulsar I was thrilled to acquire a few years ago. It will only be a few years from now, and it will be a classic car. A lot of my male friends my age seem to be doing the same thing: getting "retro" cars. It was the same kind of car I learned to drive in, and brings me back to younger rebellious days of taking off to the beach, first nervous dates or enjoying cool breezes on hot summer nights. Like all my friends, it brings back memories when we drive in it. We all pull up at one of our houses in our "retro" cars and have a campfire in the back yard, talking about the "good 'ol days".

At the time, Datsun Motors had recently changed to Nissan. Soon after, it created a line of sports cars, each definative to a broad range of one's economic status. Nissan had created three kinds of sports cars, with the Pulsar NX being the bottom line, the 240SX being the middle and the 300ZX being the top of the line. Each car's price tag was higher respectively, but it opened up the possibility that many people could own such cars and not just the high-income group. There were narrow gaps between levels of economic class during the Eighties. Pretty much anyone working and single could afford this car. It's definately not like the cars of today and has many unique features that made it attractive: You could take the roof panels off, to make it a convertable, and stow them in the hatchback trunk. It had plenty of room, and the rear seat could fold down and convert it to what I can only describe as a "hatch-back-pickup". The headlights popped up. It had basic linear lines and angles to describe the body shape and felt like it was designed "without care" but for fun. It hints of body design ideas similar to that of Lotus. It even has better mileage than a newer civic or jetta. It made a unique statement of simply being different. When compared to Nissan cars of today? Well, there is only one sports car they make, and it's rediculously expensive: the Nissan 350Z. (Seen left) This particular car is Nissan's attempt to bring that "retro" feeling back with most of the "Z" series manufactured in the 80's. Most cars people drive today all look pretty much the same regardless of maker with no bold straight lines. It's as though we're afraid to stand out as much. Ford and Chevrolet are also bringing back some of their older designs in newer versions, but they are just not quite the same as the originals. The cars in this specific point are the Mustang, the Charger, the Camero, the GT 40 or the Shelby Cobra.

In terms of design, "retro" to me is a style that didn't seem concerned so much with catering to the masses as much as today. There was a feeling of abundance, a feeling of great diversity, and to a large extent, a tremendous sort of "ignorance" back then. I was only a kid/adolescent at that time. Designs back then seemed to feel of individual expressions, rather than team efforts. The way it appeared to me involving the subjects of fashion, cars, media and music was like this...you either had the feeling and were hot, or you weren't....you designed something you thought would be good....and if they liked it, great! If they didn't like it, you told them to go look at something else. God how I miss those times back then!