Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement

This essay sheds light on the rock music genre Punk which developed during the middle of 1970s and its role as a protest art in developing the movement ideology. It discusses how Punk emerged as a movement against traditional rock music, its influence on fashion, and key influential figures.

Running head: Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
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1Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
Introduction
The essay intends to shed light on a rock music genre Punk which developed during the
middle of 1970s. The music genre became popular mainly in three countries namely Australia,
the United States and in the United Kingdom1. Hence, the essay carries on the discussion
projecting Punk as the protest art and its role in developing of the movement ideology. The study
begins by discussing how the Punk art emerged as a movement against traditional rock music.
The discussion further elaborates on Punk as an influential movement and then threw light on the
influence of punk culture on the fashion during the then society. The essay finally ends with a
summarization of the whole discussion.
Discussion
Punk as a reaction
The punk has been regarded as a reaction to the music culture during the mid 70s that
was considered as stagnant and blown up2. On a larger picture, more than a mere music genre,
Punk emerged as a rebellious upheaval of the disillusioned young people of the three above
mentioned countries, on both the cultural as well as social front. However, Punk movement
began first in the United States, then in the United Kingdom and Australia, and then in other
countries in western world. Often it is considered that modern music despite of its form is a form
of protest in the initial stage. The genre was seen to be developed during mainly the second half
of 20th century. Initially it was in the form of rock’n’roll along with wild rhythms and raw cords
over guitars in order to produce more wild music, rather it is better to term as noise. The origin
of rock music dates back in the 1950s and from then over the time. With every generation, the
rock music has its own version. However, what is understood by Punk today dates back in the
1 Wordpress.clarku.edu. "Music As Political Protest And Punk Rock — Censorship And Government Regulation Of
Music". Wordpress.Clarku.Edu, 2018. https://wordpress.clarku.edu/musc210-cgr/pussy-riot-and-the-censorship-of-
political-activism-in-russia/music-as-political-protest-and-punk-rock/.
2 Thoughtco.com. "From The Stooges To Bikini Kill And Beyond - A Timeline Of Punk". Thoughtco, 2018.
https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-of-punk-music-history-2803347.

2Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
1970s. The seed of Punk rock had been showed by popular genres like The Fugs, The stooges
and The MC53. The major initiative was taken by the band namely New York Dolls and
Television in order to make punk recognized in the world of music. Over the time, the
rock’n’roll emerged as bigger in the `1970s. However, the young generation of the society
decided to go for another revolution and the medium they chose was music again. And the
revolution was a return to a basic, three chord, raw music namely Punk. The puck rock had
reverberated from the avenues of London to the avenues of New York and other cities, Punk
rock picked up huge popularity among the young generation of the society.
Punk as a reaction against traditional music
Punk was mainly the reaction of protest against the stereotypes which had overtaken the
trends of music of 1970s. The punk culture also opposed the footfall of the hippie counterculture
during the time of 1960s. The punk artists regarded the bands like Jefferson Airplane was
becoming puerile and an insult to what they claimed as radicality previously. Most of the icons
of the rock music in 1960s preferred being featured over television for the purpose of financial
gain and popularity gain, the system which they earlier opposed to a greater extent. An example
can be given with Eric Clapton; a popular artist of rock artist was seen to have been appeared in
television shows.
3 theGuardian.com. "The Art Of Punk Posters". The Guardian, 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2010/aug/29/punk-poster-design.

3Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
In respect to the previous discussion it can be right to state that Punk movement was as
the movement to go back to the roots. It was a return to the club music through which artists
could get more opportunities to come closer with the audiences opposing the concept of more
alienated groups which was emerged out of the small clubs to auditoriums by the music industry
with an aim of gaining financial profit. On the other Punk was used as the medium of art through
which young people expressed their anger, dissatisfaction and protests against the societal norms.
They attempted to bring a change in the society through the medium of music. History has also
experienced the feminist era of Punk rock during the early 1990s under the name of Riot Girrrl.
The movement was considered to have combined the punk culture with feminist consciousness
as well as politics. Along with men artists, the women musicians also had made progress in
raising their voice against the societal norms and politics of the then society. However, not every
band of punk rock had the proper musical knowledge. Many bands just carried themselves away
in the flow of the trend of punk rock.
An influential movement
It has been observed that punk artists carried an anarchy symbolism in order to fuel their
protest. In regard to this, it needs to be mentioned what is actually meant by anarchy. Anarchy
refers to the freedom and equality without any external force like government or law or social4.
During the time period between 1970s and early 1980s, a genre merged out of the Punk with the
name of Anarcho-punk in order to promote anarchism. The term Anarcho-punk is mostly
conferred to the bands of punk music that were associated with the punk movement with
anarchic ideology in the United Kingdom. However, some school of thought considers the more
broad usage of term anarchy referring to the use of anarchic content in the lyrics of punk music5.
This lyrical anarchic content is evident in folk punk, crust punk and hardcore punk. Initially,
some anarchic members existed in the proto-punk bands such as Ton Steine Scherben,
Hawkwind, Pink Fairies, The Deviants and the Edgar Broughton Band. These based with MC5
paved the way of rock music by making precedents for combining rock music and the radical
political ideology while established the foundation of rock as the medium of brining change in
the society in terms of politics. However, this was the scenario before the 1977. Post 1977 saw
4 Last.fm. "Anarcho-Punk Music | Last.Fm". Last.Fm, 2018. https://www.last.fm/tag/anarcho-punk.
5 Goldthorpe, Jeff. "Intoxicated culture: punk symbolism and punk protest." Radical Society 22, no. 2 (1992): 35.

4Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
further development of Anarchic influence among the punk artists mainly in the United Kingdom
with the birth of punk rock. To be more specific Sex Pistol artist Jamie Reid’ first song ‘Anarchy
in the U.K.’ reaped the seed of Anarcho-punk movement. Even if it is seen that the initial scenes
of punk rock took the imitative of the movement of Anarcho-punk, the serious initiative to
establish the movement was further taken by Crass along with Poison Girls. It is largely
considered that these bands paved the way for serious anarchist ideas in the music genre of Punk.
The concept of Anarcho-Punk soon became popular with the bands namely, Flux of Pink
Indians, Conflict and Subhumans.
Symbol of Anarcho-Punk
Influence on fashion
The fashion industry was grossly influenced by Punk rock. The anti materialistic fashion
of the punk artists in the 1970s became massively popular and followed by the next generations
of the musicians6. The traditional rock artists’ short hairstyle replaced with the log hair hippie
look and soon it became signature fashion statement to determine the Punk artists. The punk
artists in the United State usually would wear simple dirty clothes ranging from T shirts, jeans,
leather jackets. Moreover second hand old torn clothes were preferred by the punk artists over
6 Hudson, Alice. "Understanding the Politics of Punk Clothing from 1976 to 1980 Using Surviving Objects and Oral
Testimony."

5Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
the expensive, bright colorful clothes7. Sue Bane, the famous punk artist had been credited for
creation of punk rock fashion due to her designs for The Rocky Horror Picture and The Rocky
Horror Show. However, over the years the Punk fashion took different dimensions and changed
with time.
Punk fashion
Key influential figures
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg popularly known as Iggy Pop has been considered as the
‘Godfather of Punk’. The popular proto-punk band namely the Stooges was led by Iggy Pop and
his role as a vocalist. Even though his music has encompassed a wide range of styles, he was
mainly popular because of punk rock as his signing had features of outrageous and rebellious
antics. The countdown appearance of the Pop is largely considered as one of the most famous
milestones of punk show history8. His single ‘punk cover’ deserves mention in regard to his
contribution to the establishment of punk subculture.
7 Theglobeandmail.com. "Punk Rock Was Always About Fashion First". The Globe And Mail, 2018.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/fashion-and-beauty/fashion/punk-rock-was-always-about-fashion-first/
article13767208/.
8 Thefamouspeople.com. "Who Is Iggy Pop? Everything You Need To Know". Thefamouspeople.Com, 2018.
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/iggy-pop-9038.php.

6Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
Iggy Pop
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
The first self proclaimed anarchist and the originator of the slogan ‘Anarchy if Order’9.
The French politician Proudhon was also the founder of mutualism in terms of philosophy with
his self proclamation as an anarchist he is regarded as the most influential figure of the ideology
and his contribution is significant since anarchy and punk are closely related to each other.
9 Teaparty911.com. "Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865): Before The ’12 Election, Progressives Staged An
Anarchist-Inspired Street Theater Entitled Occupy Wall Street". Tea Party 911, 2018.
http://teaparty911.com/blog/pierre-joseph-proudhon-1809-1865-before-the-12-election-progressives-staged-an-
anarchist-inspired-street-theater-entitled-occupy-wall-street/.

7Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
Vivienne Westwood
Vivian Westwood the world famous fashion designer based is largely credited for
bringing the punk culture in the fashion industry10. Westwood along with Malcolm McLaren
were the first to synthesize music and clothing which paved the way for punk fashion. The dress
designed by Westwood became popular as SEX, after the name of the band Sex Pistol. The
inspirational factor that encouraged Westwood to design clothing for punk fashion was the shock
value of punk.
10 Standard.co.uk. "Vivienne Westwood Fashion Empire Hit By Brexit Vote". Evening Standard, 2018.
https://www.standard.co.uk/business/vivienne-westwood-fashion-empire-hit-by-brexit-vote-a3692671.html.

8Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
Vivienne Westwood
Conclusion
The essay intended to shed light on a rock music genre Punk which developed during the
middle of 1970s. The music genre became popular mainly in three countries namely Australia,
the United States and in the United Kingdom. Hence, the essay carries on the discussion
projecting Punk as the protest art and its role in developing of the movement ideology. The study
begins by discussing how the Punk art emerged as a movement against traditional rock music.
The discussion further elaborates on Punk as an influential movement and then threw light on the
influence of punk culture on the fashion during the then society. The essay finally ends with a
summarization of the whole discussion.

9Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
Bibliography
Goldthorpe, Jeff. "Intoxicated culture: punk symbolism and punk protest." Radical Society 22,
no. 2 (1992): 35.
Hudson, Alice. "Understanding the Politics of Punk Clothing from 1976 to 1980 Using Surviving
Objects and Oral Testimony."
Last.fm. "Anarcho-Punk Music | Last.Fm". Last.Fm, 2018. https://www.last.fm/tag/anarcho-
punk.
Standard.co.uk. "Vivienne Westwood Fashion Empire Hit By Brexit Vote". Evening Standard,
2018. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/vivienne-westwood-fashion-empire-hit-by-brexit-
vote-a3692671.html.
Teaparty911.com. "Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865): Before The ’12 Election, Progressives
Staged An Anarchist-Inspired Street Theater Entitled Occupy Wall Street". Tea Party 911, 2018.
http://teaparty911.com/blog/pierre-joseph-proudhon-1809-1865-before-the-12-election-
progressives-staged-an-anarchist-inspired-street-theater-entitled-occupy-wall-street/.
Thefamouspeople.com. "Who Is Iggy Pop? Everything You Need To
Know". Thefamouspeople.Com, 2018. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/iggy-pop-
9038.php.
Theglobeandmail.com. "Punk Rock Was Always About Fashion First". The Globe And Mail,
2018. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/fashion-and-beauty/fashion/punk-rock-was-always-
about-fashion-first/article13767208/.

10Punk: The Role of Protest Art in Developing the Movement
theGuardian.com. "The Art Of Punk Posters". The Guardian, 2018.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2010/aug/29/punk-poster-design.
Thoughtco.com. "From The Stooges To Bikini Kill And Beyond - A Timeline Of Punk".
Thoughtco, 2018. https://www.thoughtco.com/timeline-of-punk-music-history-2803347.
Wordpress.clarku.edu. "Music As Political Protest And Punk Rock — Censorship And
Government Regulation Of Music". Wordpress.Clarku.Edu, 2018.
https://wordpress.clarku.edu/musc210-cgr/pussy-riot-and-the-censorship-of-political-activism-in-
russia/music-as-political-protest-and-punk-rock/.