The Punk Aesthetic

The Exploited - Punk's Not Dead

It’s definitely beyond the scope of this article to fully define the “punk aesthetic” (any serious interest on your part can be pursued until your eyes bleed on these here interwebz), particularly when it comes to all the mutated forms incarnate today. But I’d like to see if I can at least present an outline…

The 1960’s was a seminal time for subversion in modern society. If there’s any place we need to search to find the roots of Punk (to find protopunk), it is there. However…

- Protopunk was never a cohesive movement, nor was there a readily identifiable proto-punk sound that made its artists seem related at the time. What ties proto-punk together is a certain provocative sensibility that didn’t fit the prevailing counterculture of the time … It was consciously subversive and fully aware of its outsider status … In terms of its lasting influence, much proto-punk was primitive and stripped-down, even when it wasn’t aggressive, and its production was usually just as unpolished. It also frequently dealt with taboo subject matter, depicting society’s grimy underbelly in great detail, and venting alienation that was more intense and personal than ever before. [1]

The Cover of Punk Magazine, Issue #2

To put it in grossly oversimplified terms, the reaction to the “happy complacency” of Ozzie and Harriet’s 1950’s and to the Vietnam War, and then finally to the banality of Disco and the corporate control of Glam Rock, led to a reaction of its own, which became, predictably, iconoclastic.

- Punk had a unique and complex aesthetic. It was steeped in shock value and revered what was considered ugly. The whole look of punk was designed to disturb and disrupt the happy complacency of the wider society. Outside of punk’s torn and safety pinned anti-fashion statements, this impulse to outrage was never more apparent than on punk album covers. [2]

But amid the destruction of all things sacred, the orgiastic violence and the “mindless” self-destruction, there was something hearty and perennial at Punk’s core that continued to thrive and change, continually pushing boundaries and experimenting, breaking taboos and shoving all manner of things down society’s collective throat. And in that respect, it landed squarely in its rightful place: alongside all the other radical art movements, some beginning well over a century ago.

Artist Unknown - Found at www.mydigitallife.co.za

From its turbulent beginnings in the 1970’s, Punk grew and thrived, branching in all directions in successive “waves,” opportunistically embracing influences and ideologies—sometimes appearing to wane, only to reappear again with a vengeance when any new energy source was found. By the 1980′s, a wide variety of scenes had staked out their claims in cities around the world, and the punk aesthetic had left its indelible mark all across the broad spectrum of Rock-and-Roll, not to mention many corners in the art world.

By legendary Crass artist, Gee Vaucher - Found at www.supertouchart.com

Fast Forward to the 1990’s, and even to this very day, artists are still “revisiting” Punk’s vital beginnings, re-sharpening their teeth and mating all the old hungers with new sounds, new visions and new purpose. We have Post-Hardcore, Post-Punk, Pop Punk and Art Punk, not to mention the various “Metals” and “Alternative” branches. We have Goth, Emo and Screamo, and…well, you get the point. And this is a ridiculously simple list of just the musical incarnations!

Goth image found at www.gothlook.info

The grassroots appeal and staunch criticism of authority and the status quo have made their way, also predictably, into the very fabric of social and political life. The green movements, the anti-capitalist/anti-consumerist movements, even a wide array of futurists, gay rights activists and free speech advocates have all been baptized in these waters.

Found at www.pirateparty.org.uk

So what then can we say truly remains of the original Punk “spirit,” and what value can this have for a new pretender calling itself MysticPunk? Well, a single blog entry won’t suffice to explore that the way it deserves either. But if there’s anything I should fasten on here, I’d have to say it is the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic, and the willingness to analyze, decontruct, taunt and engage every last authority. How can true individuality and individual liberty exist without a willingness to at least examine these authorities, and the outside constraints they place on our views of reality? In these respects, I think true mystics throughout history would feel right at home.

And I believe every artist who has ever lived, ever felt the undeniable drive to create something unique and personal, is already there.

1. From an essay on protopunk, found at allmusic.com.

2. From an essay by Mark Vallen, found at his website, art-for-a-change.com.

NOTE: “God Save The Queen” by Jamie Reid, found at wikipedia

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