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Artificial Peace

Formed by Pete Murray of Rec C and Steve Polcari, Rob Moss, and Mike Manos of Assault and Battery, Artificial Peace was a short-lived hardcore band from the D.C. suburb of Bethesda. The group appeared on Dischord Records' Flex Your Head compilation and also released a split 7-inch EP with the Exiled on Fountain of Youth. Following the breakup of Artificial Peace, Moss joined Government Issue and Polcari, Manos, and Murray started Marginal Man with Andre Lee and Kenny Inouye. Dischord Records released Artificial Peace's Complete Session, Nov '81 in 2010 and Alona's Dream Records released their Live At The Wilson Center | June 25, 1982 in 2022.

Drawn from the Sharon Cheslow Punk Flyers collection and the D.C. Punk and Indie Fanzine Collection.

Fliers

Flier with the names of the bands in large, stylized text, event details handwritten at the bottom, and the right is a picture of two elderly men, one of them playing the guitar.

Deadline, GI, and Artificial Peace - Washington International School, Washington, D.C., August 24, 1981

Iron Cross flier with a list of featured bands on the right side and event details on the left. The background is an image of a girl peeking out of her door.

Iron Cross, Black Market Baby, Deadline, Artificial Peace - Rockville, Maryland, October 10, 1981

Artificial Peace flier with a collage of photos and handwritten text.

Artificial Peace - Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, Maryland, January 9, 1982

Artificial Peace flier with a prominent image of normally dressed people armed in gas masks. There is also a collage of other images, and a list of featured bands, such as Black Market Baby and Void.

Artificial Peace, Black Market Baby, Void - Arlington, Virginia, January 22, 1982

Artificial Peace Flier with band names, event details, and a collage design featuring a girl sitting on the floor surrounded by trophies.

Artificial Peace, Void, and Double-O - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982

Iron Cross Flier with a drawing of a rat and band names including Void, Minor Threat, Faith, and Artificial Peace.

Iron Cross, Void, Minor Threat, Artificial Peace, Faith and Double-O - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982

Minor Threat Flier with a list of featured bands and event details on the left side, and on the right is the shape of a sword or cross made by the vertical repetition of the words 'DC' and 'HARDCORE'.

Minor Threat, The Faith, Artificial Peace, Iron Cross, Void, and Double O - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982

Void Flier with a drawing of five figures with decorated jackets sitting and standing in a line, all with their backs to the viewer, and the event details are written above them.

Void, Faith, Double-O, Iron Cross, Minor Threat and Artificial Peace - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1982

Black Flag Flier with handwritten event details and cartoon illustrations.

Black Flag, Saccharine Trust, Artificial Peace - Club Banned, Baltimore, Maryland, June 5, 1982

Artificial Peace Flier listing other featured bands and event details, and there is a drawing of a graveyard scene.

Artificial Peace, Government Issue (G.I.), Black Market Baby, Deadline, Faith and Gang Green - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., June 25, 1982

Artificial Peace Flier with featured bands listed, and illustrations featuring creatures and abstract elements.

Artificial Peace, Government Issue, Faith - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., June 25, 1982

Flier for an event at Wilson Center titled 'Hardcore' with a list of performing bands. At the top are three large Xs and two black bars.

Government Issue, Faith, Scream, and Artificial Peace - Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., June 25, 1982

Iron Cross Flier with a background image of a strong-looking bald man and handwritten text.

Iron Cross, Artificial Peace, Scream, Void and Jerry's Kids - Columbia, Maryland, July 2, 1982

Zines

There is an illustration of a woman with her eyes and mouth open in fear, and a large spider-looking creature on top of her forehead.

If This Goes On, Issue 1, 1982

About

Persistent Vision presents the University of Maryland's digitized special collections materials related to punk in the Washington, D.C. area. Most of these materials reside at Special Collections in Performing Arts (SCPA) in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library. These materials help to tell the story of a subculture and a community that has thrived since 1976.

Curators: John Davis, Ben Jackson
Design: Ben Jackson, Natalie Salive
Authors: Ben Jackson, John Davis, and Jessica Grimmer

With help from: Cindy Zhao, Jeremy Gottwig, Amanda Henderson, Gabby Cameron, Hayden Kramer

Contact Us

Special Collections in Performing Arts is located in the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library on University of Maryland’s College Park campus.

For general information about the library and our collections, contact us