Ed Sanders

The aesthetic of the magazine is one that celebrates the breaking of barriers and introduction of taboos in society. Physicality and a focus on the body as art were both prominent themes of the avant-garde movement. This, combined with Sander’s ideals of freedom through the acceptance of the explicit, contribute to the many hand-drawn erotic and pornographic drawings all over his magazines.

Here we can see a page from the second volume of the magazine. Things to highlight are the pink paper, particularly since every three to four pages their color changes. Not only that but it also varies from edition to edition depending on what Sanders had around him. If one reads the notes from the editor (Sanders) it becomes pretty clear what the intent of the magazine is. “issues 3, 4, 5 will be yum-filled of exposes, sex, greed, lust, & crime.” While shocking at first, as you read the editions and flip through the pages the appearance of taboo topics gradually becomes less alarming, which is the point of the magazine. “Grope for peace” is the motto that is printed in every single issue. It is really here where we can appreciate the motivation of the Beatnik movement: peace through sexual liberation.

This is the cover from the ninth volume of magazine number 5. While it is easy to get distracted by all the phallic shaped drawings and erotica, there is an important detail in this cover. On this one, and several others, there are ancient Egyptian looking like drawings. This, combined with the poem written in Greek in this same edition (“The First Olympian Ode”, pg. 2) raises some questions. This is where Sander’s formal education in Greek and hieroglyphs comes into play. From the structure of his poems to the doodles on his magazine, they are present in nearly all of his art. In the end what he creates seems to be a collage of high and low culture² that is able to communicate effectively through several layers of understanding. Sanders never ignored his education, but rather used it in his art as a piece of inspiration.

Fuck You Magazine was Sander’s contribution to the avant-garde, to the fight for peace and to the acceptance of sex and sexuality. Through his, and the other featured artist’s art he introduced protest and sex into the everyday life. He made real and visible what many were only thinking, and ultimately fought against the societal structure that oppressed these beliefs and called them vulgar.

How the Fugs achieved their purpose was through a merging of poetics and music⁷. They sang poems written by Sanders himself and sometimes commissioned songs to other New York School artists such as Ted Berrigan. They also broke down the barrier between performer and audience by introducing “body poetry”: songs that were about love and sex. Using their poetic music, and thanks to their lack of seriousness, they started punk rock in the Lower East Side and spread the Beat culture.

As one of their most famous songs we have “Coca Cola Douche”. First and foremost it is important to know what the title of the song means. In the 1950s, prior to the availability of the oral contraceptive pill, it was believed that Coca-cola had some spermicidal properties. Hence, a can was shook up post coitus, and the Coke would be sprayed on the female genitalia. This was supposed to serve as a form of contraceptive. While this is already unimaginably vulgar (particularly for 60s standards) it is comparable to the actual lyrics. Lines like “My baby ain’t got no money, but her snatch it tastes like honey” are paired with sex like sounds and a playful background music. It is not rare to hear people cackle after they are done performing these catchy songs.