A small group of individuals with shared experiences and interests that come together forms a subculture. These individuals uphold a distinctive set of values, beliefs and interests that are contrasting from societal norms. They unite because of various factors from fashion, music to socio-political values where they can feel a sense of belonging and abscond from mainstream society in a safe space. Individuals express themselves prominently through fashion, music and other common interests that symbolizes valuable meanings and strong beliefs. A subculture is a platform for self-expression and a response or a reaction against corrupted affairs of the world.

Punk is a youth subculture that emerged in the late 70s, originating in the United Kingdom, London. Punks typically begin associating themselves with this subculture in their late teen years and are mainly dominated by youths though it does become a lifetime commitment for some punks. Within this subculture, there are smaller subgroups that adopt distinctive attitudes, fashion and music towards punk. The values associated with this subculture are influenced by various factors such as social backgrounds and political movements that challenge the larger society’s perception of what is morally acceptable or unacceptable. Those involved in this subculture are usually from lower to middle classes and working classes notwithstanding the fact that there are a few punks who come from wealthier backgrounds. In SLC Punk, a 1998 punk-fiction film, the protagonist, 18 year old Steveo represents an academically bright punk who studied law in college. He comes from a well-to-do family whose father is a lawyer. In this film, despite Steveo’s exceptional academic performance in law studies and his parents’ desire for him to follow his father’s corporate footsteps, he displays a strong sense of rebellion, anti-greed and anti-corporatism through his refusal to pursue law in Harvard University after college. 

Fig 1. Damaged, Black Flag. December 5, 1981.

Punk uses music heavily as a form of expression with overtly loud bass and noises with explicit vocals that don’t conform to the mainstream society’s idea of music. Hardcore punk is an example of a subgenre of punk music that speeds up with faster tempos, shorter riffs and emotionally intense vocals while post punk include industrial beats, distorted guitars and rhythmic monotonous vocals. Hardcore punk is arguably a genre of the punk music and the subculture’s subgroup because hardcore and punk are terms used interchangeably within the subculture and its music scene. 

Black Flag is an iconic hardcore punk band from Los Angeles America. It’s album, Damaged released in 1981 consists of fifteen songs with powerful titles with ‘Police Story’ evoking resistance against the government and ‘Depression’ conveying a personal experience. The cover of the vinyl record (fig 1.) strongly suggests the title of this album with a staged photograph of its vocalist, Henry Rollins, breaking a mirror with his fists, setting the mood for the content in the album.

Among other iconic hardcore punk bands such as Bad Brains and Minor threat, the harsh sounds of this album were filled with unparalleled creativity and talent. The distinctive guitar tones were fueled by guitarist Gregg Gins’ power chords of occasional atonal sounds and odd jazz chords added. Chuck Dukowski’s mean approach of the bass and the intense vocals of Henry Rollins convey anger and sensitivity. The safe conventional drum beats of Robo acts as the stability of the sounds, the guitarist stands out with his identifiable style of sound.

The lyrics in songs like ‘Damaged’ and ‘Depression, hit listeners with a dark introspective analysis of someone’s experiences, thoughts or feelings. It falls on the more intimate side of the album while ‘Police Story’ and ‘Spray Paint’, evidently falls under the political side of the album. The titles alone instantly conveys anti-governist and rebellion, suggesting resistance against a government body and acts of protests.

This album is a representation of a coming of age hardcore punk music. Its sound picked up popularity throughout North America, extending out to regional outposts. Black Flag’s chaos and rowdy reputation at shows affected their ability to play at shows in Southern California, which stunted the band’s growth across the country. 

Fig 2. Flyer promoting a gig by Adam and the Ants, UK, 1977. Design: Adam Ant. Source: The Art of Punk

With the emergence of punk beginning with sounds, images and expression, punk art movement bases around the anarchist, anti-conformist and anti-art approach. Just like punk music and fashion, its unfiltered visuals strongly expresses disgust, working-class anger and frustration of living.

Many punk shows’ gig posters and flyers include prominent letters and layers of graphics and images that are put together as a collage. It is full of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) spirit where the words are made up of different fonts that look like they come from different magazines or newspapers, images and graphics are overlaid to look like a bomb of stickers randomly glued onto a piece of paper. This idiosyncratic style of DIY visual art is a strong representation of punk culture influenced by their primary beliefs of anti-consumerism. 

In the flyer for a gig by Adam and the Ants’ (fig 2.), the headline, venue and date are put together by mismatched fonts. The smaller sets of text placed around the flyer depicts cut-outs from newspapers and comic books. Amid this visually chaotic flyer, the emphasis lies on the sexual graphic illustration of a couple; the male has his hands bound behind with his pants unbuttoned and the female’s hands caressing his face while her leg wraps around his thigh suggesting the female’s power and authority over the male. Surrounding this emphasis are a number of female representations: the top half of the flyer represents females in empowering poses and the bottom half represents two female figures standing over a presumably male’s body lying down in a timid position. There is a prominent portrayal of female domination expressing female empowerment and anti-sexist beliefs through this flyer. Despite the asymmetrical and unbalanced combination of texts and images, this flyer appears to be cohesive because of the black and white color scheme and the style of cut-out fonts which balanced out the DIY theme of the flyer.

Fig 3. Vivienne Westwood’s limited-edition reproduction of the iconic archive Safety-Pin lip accessory 2017

Fig 4. Vivienne Westwood Autumn/Winter 1993/94, photograph by Niall McInerney, Bloomsbury Fashion Photography Archive

The individualistic and anti-consumerist ethic has continually been expressed in punk fashion across creative imaginations and methods of using mundane objects or materials. The concept of DIY in punk adapted from everyday objects that align with the punk aesthetic. In the context of punk, it goes against the social norms of ‘new’; instead of buying a new pair of jeans to replace a worn and torn piece, rip it up further, bleach it or stitch on scrappy patches to give it a ‘new’ look. DIY in punk is embodied in the art of customization and self-made culture to express a sense of identity in the personalization of fashion items.

The familiar use of a safety pin to hold clothes together is a practical way of this everyday object being used in punk fashion. They are used to pin patches of favourite bands onto jackets and hold together ripped clothings. During the rise of hate crimes and racism in countries like the US and UK, the safety pin was adopted as an accessory that symbolizes a totem of solidarity with the marginalized in punk history. 

The safety-pin mouth accessory by punk fashion’s fiercest rebel, Vivienne Westwood, is an iconic fashion archive first worn by Kate Moss in the Autumn/Winter 1993 collection (fig 4.). The unconventional use of this safety pin as an accessory on the face represents punk’s spirit to continually challenge mainstream society. Its eccentric gold metallic design with a coin on the sharp edge and a pearl dangling over the coiled end appears heavily intimidating on the face. It conjures up the idea of pain which represents solidarity with victims of hate crime, racism, violence and xenophobia. 

The reproduction of this accessory in late 2017 was undoubtedly influenced by the surge of racism and xenophobia in America as a political reaction. The black women modelling the accessory has a glitter handprint marked on her face. A handprint marked on the face resonates as an act of protest against violence and abuse. The use of the safety pin accessory and the glitter handprint demonstrates the activism against racism and violence in one image. 

In summary, the punk subculture portrays political and societal values and beliefs explicitly. Music, art and fashion are crucial forms of expression in this subculture. This particular subculture is one of many other subcultural groups that has often been misunderstood. They have been commonly associated with violence because of their cut-throat way of life when in actual fact, they respectfully stand against violence, abuse and hate crimes. Although the way they celebrate their music may be misleading as an affiliation to violence because of mosh pits at shows and brutal music, it is rather a form of self-expression and a safe space for individuals to diffuse their feelings of anger towards society. Just like their music, punk visual arts are just as explicit and unfiltered with rebellious headlines and graphics conveying political messages and addressing societal issues. Fashion plays a huge role in punk because of the adaptations of everyday objects from its practical usability to decorative emblems. The history of punk as an anti-consumerist, anti-greed and anti-corporatism respectably aligns with the desire for a sustainable way of life today because of its revolutionary DIY spirit and counter-culture.