Cool S Explained

Cool S
Type:Textual object
Writing:Latin script
Symbols:S
Created:20th century
Classification:Trademarked in the United States
Culture:Childlore

The Cool S, also known as the Universal S, the Stüssy S, the Super S, the Pointy S, the Banksy S, the Surfer’s S, and the Graffiti S, is a graffiti sign in popular culture and childlore that is typically doodled on children's notebooks or graffitied on walls. The exact origin of the Cool S is unknown,[1] but it became prevalent around the early 1970s as a part of graffiti culture.[2] [3]

Shape

The Cool S consists of 14 line segments, forming a stylized, pointed S-shape. It has also been compared to the infinity symbol.[4] The tails (pointy ends) of the S appear to link underneath so that it loops around on itself in the same way as the infinity symbol does.[5] The Cool S has no reflection symmetry, but has 2-fold rotational symmetry.

History

The exact origin of the symbol is unclear,[6] but it is generally considered to be an artifact of childlore,[7] meaning that it is taught by children to children, over the course of generations.

Jon Naar's photographs of graffiti in New York City, which were taken in 1973 and published in The Faith of Graffiti in 1974, feature the symbol numerous times, identical to its modern form. Jean-Michel Basquiat's artworks also occasionally have the symbol hidden somewhere, such as in Charles the First, and in the one titled Olive Oil from 1982 it is labelled as the "classic S of graff".[8]

The name "Superman S" comes from a belief that it was a symbol for Superman, whose costume features a stylized S in a diamond shape, but that shape is quite different. Emmy Coats (who has worked alongside Shawn Stussy since 1985) has stated that it was never a symbol of Stussy's Californian surf company.[9] In 2010, the company uploaded a video to Vimeo[10] and later to YouTube[11] in which one of Jon Naar's 1973 photographs of the symbol can be seen.

The symbol was trademarked in the United States in July 2020, but Mark May, the trademark owner, says he does not wish to own the trademark for financial reasons but rather "to preserve it [...] and to truly revel in its irreverence".[12]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: This Guy Spent Five Years Researching The Origins Of The 'Universal S' . Shepherd . Rebecca . August 14, 2019 . . April 30, 2020.
  2. Book: Mailer, Norman . . 2009 . It Books . 978-0-06-196170-0. 121.
  3. Web site: 2019-08-20 . Interview_Gribble1 . 2020-07-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190820043142/http://www.handselecta.com/interview_gribbl.html . 2019-08-20.
  4. Web site: Here's The Story Behind That Cool 'S' Thing You Used To Draw In Class . Lindwasser . Anna . Ranker . August 11, 2019.
  5. Web site: Local Investigates: The Mysterious S Symbol . February 12, 2014 . . January 29, 2017.
  6. Web site: Solve the Mystery of the Pointy S . Neelon . Caleb . November 23, 2010 . . January 29, 2017.
  7. Web site: Beck . Julie . Why Did We All Have the Same Childhood? . theatlantic.com . The Atlantic . 11 April 2024.
  8. Book: Hoffman, Fred . 2017 . The Art of Jean-Michel Basquiat . Enrico Navarra Gallery . New York . 211 . 978-2-911596-53-7 . "The double 'S' markings on the center piece resemble other marks and gestures found in Basquiat's paintings from this time [...] While it became less and less a part of Basquiat's art production, there are continued references to graffiti style in his paintings and works on paper, such as the 'S' symbol.".
  9. Web site: That 'S' Thing Everyone Drew in School, What Is It? . Morgans . Julian . July 23, 2016 . . March 21, 2019 . No, this is not an original Stussy Logo [...] I personally get asked this a lot, but people have been drawing this S long before Stussy was established. People have just assumed it was Stussy and it's sort of spread from there. It's actually quite amusing..
  10. Web site: Stussy - Jon Naar . 8 March 2010 . Stüssy . video . Vimeo.
  11. Web site: Stussy - Jon Naar . May 26, 2011 . StussyVideo . YouTube. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine
  12. Web site: Morgans . Julian . Meet the Guy Who Just Trademarked 'The S Thing' . Vice.com . Vice . July 6, 2020 . July 26, 2023.