Punk Art History
Artworks from the European No Future Generation
In Punk Art History, Danish art historian Marie Arleth Skov explores punk culture’s influence on the art of the 1970s.
The book crystallizes the troubled social climate behind the punk movement—a malaise of urban decay and stagnant economies. Punks felt disenfranchised by mainstream society; still, though they were inspired by the antiestablishment protests of the 1960s, their more “anti-hippie” philosophy made no promises of peace and love. Punk art declarations replaced “stop-the-bomb” sentiments with “drop-the-bomb” fatalism; and in cities including London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and East and West Berlin, Skov notes, punks preferred to take speed rather than the mellow marijuana and psychedelic drugs preferred by their hippie predecessors. The “no future” sentiment sung by the Sex Pistols became their slogan of pessimistic determinism.
Herein, Skov details the interdisciplinary vortex of punk art, including graffiti, collages, zines, installations, films, and performance works. Punk artists drew from earlier movements, like surrealism and Dada, yet their frequent rejection of formal training and “DIY” ethic offered an admirable art “democratization.” Numerous artworks are featured, including Smashed Mona, a shattered reinterpretation of Da Vinci’s iconic Mona Lisa, and COUM Transmissions’ The British Government, which used a live mouse, a man’s image, and the Union Jack flag to create an unnerving Orwellian effect.
Capturing the sharp, subversive energy that fueled punk art and music, Punk Art History is a blistering, scintillating chronicle of rebellious brilliance.
Reviewed by
Meg Nola
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