‘man funk’ simply appeared, twirled around for a while, and settled in for the long term-it feels very much in keeping with the playful, slightly mischievous character of both the phrase and the painting. courtesy of one of spotify’s wonderful rabbit holes. listening to hip hop after all by guts, the phrase lodged itself somewhere between rhythm and memory. it felt as though it had always existed — embedded in the same cultural soup as 1970s design itself: playful, a little surreal, and driven more by feeling than logic. in my head it simply appeared, twirled around for a while, and settled in for the long term.
the phrase fits beautifully with the italian 1960s–70s design aesthetic that i've found myself repeatedly drawn towards over the past year. i've been exploring mischievous patterning, op-art waves, biomorphic forms, and those wonderfully funky colour palettes of burnt orange, avocado, tobacco brown, mustard yellow and acid green. it's a visual language that embraces experimentation and humour, never taking itself too seriously.
like much of the design from that era, ‘man funk’ doesn't need a fixed origin story. so much of 70s culture belongs to a collective memory rather than any single author — things half-remembered from album sleeves, television idents, record shops, magazines, or kitchens wrapped in gloriously patterned wallpaper. growing up, there were certainly a few memorable wallpaper moments that left their mark.
perhaps that's why the phrase resonates. it sits somewhere between nostalgia and invention, familiar yet impossible to place.
as we continue renovating our own house, some of this aesthetic will inevitably find its way into the lounge. not as a recreation of the past, but as a celebration of its spirit — a space that doesn't just look good, but grooves.
interesting note- the music comes from 2014!