Cool S

Cool S

The Cool S, also known as the Stussy S, Super S, Superman S, Universal S, Pointy S, Middle School S, Graffiti S, and by many other names, is a graffiti sign in popular culture that is typically doodled on children's notebooks or graffitied on walls. The exact origin of the Cool S is unknown, but it may have originated from geometry textbooks and has appeared around the early 1970s as a part of graffiti culture. Contrary to popular belief, the symbol has ties to neither the U.S. clothing brand Stüssy nor to the character Superman, though Stüssy did conduct an interview in 2010 with Jon Naar, a pioneer graffiti photographer with many works including this S, dating back to the 1970s.This symbol and other nearly-identical S-shaped motifs have appeared for at least hundreds of years. A similar pattern can be seen in 14th-century tilework at the central courtyard of the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo, as well as in the background of the 1533 painting "The Ambassadors" by Hans Holbein. It is also visually similar to the ancient Latvian "Zalkša zīme" symbol and the Dacian "Carligul Ciobanului" symbol.

Update this biography »
Complete biography of Cool S »