The 1990s: A Visual History of the Decade

An exploration of history, art, film, music and culture in a unique, immersive and visual narrative of a conflicted and momentous decade.

As the Cold War ended and a new millennium approached, grunge, hip-hop and rave exploded in popularity as teenagers and twenty-somethings searched for something real, something more meaningful. Ostentation was out. Authenticity was in. The 1990s had arrived.

And so we had the first flashes of reality TV, the O.J. Simpson trial, the rise of surveillance culture and the internet. We had early wake-up calls to the world of social media as The Truman Show and The Blair Witch Project exploited the emerging visual language of DIY video content. We heard the rallying call of ‘Girl Power!’ from riot grrrls and the Spice Girls. We argued over East Coast versus West Coast rap and Biggie versus Tupac. Ice-T went from ‘Cop Killer’ to TV detective and Will Smith went from the Fresh Prince to a man in black. Cults, crop circles and conspiracy theories spread, and The X-Files and The Matrix pulled back the curtain on fictional hidden truths. It was the end of history and it was print’s last hurrah – or so we thought.

A fascinating ecosystem of influence between high and low culture, this stimulating volume makes sense of the decade’s recurring motifs, trends and themes, from supermodels to airport style and from the fall of the Soviet Union to the end of the world.

About the Author

Henry Carroll is the author of fourteen books, including the Read This if You Want to Take Great Photographs series, which has sold over one million copies across 22 languages. He is also the author of Photographers on Photography, the Photographs That Make You Think series and The 1980s: Image of a Decade. Originally from London, Henry now lives in Los Angeles.