Jamie Reid an inspiration to the beginings of DIY aesthetic in punk

After looking on several websites - I have found one of the men behind the diy ethos in punk.

The DIY ethic that is a part of punk music and lifestyle it seems all began according to one website through the likes of artists such as Jamie Reid, the visual anarchist whose artwork helped define the Sex Pistols and upheld the diy ethos.

According to the the following website- http://designhistorylab.com/?p=1171

Jamie Reid was born in 1947 and was brought up on the arts at a British grammar school. He would later attend the art school at Wimbledon College alongside Malcolm McLaren the man who was the inspiration and the mind behind the Sex Pistols. They were soon heavily involved in the situationalist movement of King Mob and anarchist group Up Against the Wall Motherfucker anarchists. After Reid left college he began work on the underground activist magazine Suburban Press which he continued for five years. It’s cheap productive methods of cut and paste ransom-style lettering and political message made it one of the first punk zines to be created that embodied the diy punk aesthetic. Reid would later go on to design the cover for the Sex Pistols album cover Never mind the Bollocks and its single poster, God Save the Queen.

Reid’s work according to this website contributed to and influenced postmodernism. His works also inspired later artists like Stockton of D*Face, who was influenced by the punk magazines and pop aesthetic from comic book fonts. One of his works is the ‘punked out’ version of the British Queen from a 20 dollar British note.

Another website (http://www.nudemagazine.co.uk/4-jamie-reid.htm) recalls an interview with Jamie Reid’s and his ideals on what is essentially punk.

He states:

“Ultimately, punk is more to do with ideas and less about just the fashion and being in a four-piece rock band.”

This is interesting because it shows that the people behind punk aren’t just doing it for the music or the culture but it’s an expression of one self and your ideas that make punk what it is.

He later goes on in the interview:

'Punk was like an exorcism which cleared up a lot of the shit that was left over from the Sixties. A lot the energy and creativity of the late-Sixties had become very corporate by the mid-Seventies. But then, that happened too with punk. Initially, punk was about spontaneity and it also carried with it a really vicious sense of humour, but sadly that has become lost with the process of mythologisation.'

This is also interesting, as Punk was essentially a diy radical approach and in many ways a counterculture to that of the sixties. However looking forward to today’s society it has also fallen in some regards into the realms of corporatism, with only the few that continue rather under this profile as ‘indie’ who continue to make what is left of punk. I find it hard to define other styles which were definitely influenced by 70’s punk as ‘punk’ today as the genre has diverged so much. But I suppose that allot of music and styles still encompass many aspects of the diy aesthetic of punk, such as experimental, hip-hop, indie and grunge. Also there are artists and bands today that are still influenced by the likes of Jamie Reid, who could be seen as a fore-father of the diy punk movement.

punkwear- can it continue as a diy thing or is it now commercialised?

I found a forum/ thread discussing the punk lifestyle and in particular the bricologe (punk clothing) and how easy it is to make your own.
http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/textiles-and-crafts/the-diy-punk-thread-tips-guides-and-storys/t.43880469/

Apart of this DIY punk ethic seen by some punks, is to produce their own style of fashion that makes them unique. The forum discusses varying aspects of how to turn everyday or old clothes into "punk" clothing, altering it to make it unique and individual. What is interesting about this is it shows that these ideals of punk culture are still continuing even though allot of punk has become mainstream as you can buy punk band shirts and affiliated clothing from many outlets. Just searching 'punk clothing' on google shows many corporations/websites that sell punk merchandise. It's a bit sad how in today's society the images/ style of punk have been pushed into mainstream society, where you can now buy this style which was once essentially unique as a do it yourself cultural practice of the punk scene. What happened to making stuff out of garbage bags, and ripped jeans with home-made patches?

As you can see isn't the commercialisation of punk ruining its image.

the expanding realm of the diy punk aesthetic.

After the lecture on experimental music which was a bit hard to appreciate as actually music, however it showed me that that experimental music ideals were new however much of it embodies the DIY aesthetic that came from punk. Experimental music has often been described as new punk, which is interesting as it could be seen as a sub-genre of punk. In terms of the DIY aesthetic, the process of making, performing and producing experimental music is very much DIY. You can now produce your own music on laptops or use them as an instrument, and distribute it via the Internet, and digital/ experimental music is going to be the way of the future for most music. Indie music in particular which could also be seen as a sub-genre of punk as it also empodies this anti-commercialist/do it yourself music and culture ethic.Nirvana was on of the first bands that came out of this underground punk scene and got their music distributed through an independent record label and look how important they are now to the grunge/indie scene.

After doing a search of various blogs they also seem to agree that the diy punk ethic has influenced indie and other genres. Christina Pomoni's blog-

http://christinapomoni.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/how-the-diy-ethic-of-punk-rock-influenced-indie-record-labels/

discusses how punk influenced indie record labels. She states that punks -
" Do It Yourself (DIY) ethic was mainly reflected in distinctive clothing, hairstyle and artwork to convey a new radical ethos generated from punk groups. By opposing to the production values of pop music, punk rock soon became something that anyone could do."

She later goes on to state:
"The punk rock era produced a turning point for independent labels and the DIY ethos considering the emergence of a plethora of independent labels. Indie music evolved in the garages of the US and the UK, where young people were figuring out what they really could do with their guitars and electronic equipment. Singing with a pissed-off voice and being focused on the DIY ethic grind that punk music offered, these self-asserted Indie groups transplanted the actions of the proto punk bands into a new kind of music. "

Another blog states in its post:
"The do-it-yourself attitude, conceived out of a combination of ambition and necessity, was revelatory to a particular generation who may have grown up with punk but still saw the movement’s bands releasing albums on major labels; what started as adding a lower rung to the ladder became an end goal in itself, with labels like Dischord and K insisting that DIY techniques represented a way of making music that was anti-hierarchical, inclusive, and democratic." http://idolator.com/5190451/is-diy-just-another-word-for-nothing-left-to-lose

So as you can see that others also see that the diy ethic that was originally attributed to punk is being used by other scenes and genres to expand their music. The anti-commercial, do it your self production and presentation of the music has now far exceeded punk and its ideals are being used far beyond what was originally punk.

Film Review- Punk Attitude

attitude link http://www.library.uq.edu.au/mget.php?id=UQL_misc_Video7

Ok so it’s not really a proper film review but just my thoughts and what I got out of this film.
This film looks at the history of punk and its meaning from the perspective of different artists, photographer, film directors, and punk followers from the 70’s until almost the present day. In accordance with looking at the DIY in punk, this film helped me understand that punk whole aesthetic is doing it yourself. From its start with bands like the Sex pistols and New York dolls they made punk individual and started out as a genre that was set apart from rock. But it was other moments itself that took the rebelliousness that was considered punk and made it their own. One of the comments made was that the hippie culture was punk, and I’d have to agree with them. It was in many ways rebellion against the rock stereotype and its protests against the Vietnam War in America that incises into the political side of punk music. However as it became mainstream like everything punk was the alternative. What was mentioned in the film was that it was important for iconoclastic artists to upset things. And this is many ways was the message that was first stated in punk bands such as the Sex Pistols and The Clash, who were representing their views through their lyrics and actions as a ‘punk rocker’. Jim Jorduch one of the people interviewed in this film stated that people in that were doing it for themselves because they wanted to express something. And this is very much the message of do it yourself aesthetic of punk. It’s not about the music or the clothing, or the corporatism or getting heard, its people making music to express themselves. I think many punk bands today which are characterised as punk bands should have more to express and show elements of the punk aesthetic of doing it yourself and being seen as a counterculture or something that differentiated from mainstream rock music. Many bands carry the word punk as it is what their music may sound like but it doesn’t carry that aesthetic or attitude of punk as shown in this film.
Many of the aspects of the diy aesthetic of punk were not just through expression but part of the culture. The clothing was a statement for anti-fashion and in many ways against the corporatism of brands and dominant fashion. It was also made punk in many ways a subculture and was a form of bricolage that differentiated those who were punk from the rest of society. The punk fanzines such as Sniffin Glue and Punk, also displays characteristics of doing it yourself as it was a vehicle or voice for the artists and fans to express themselves and communicate through. What was interesting is that bands such as Fugazi who won’t do publications in magazines with liquor or tobacco, as they are part of corporatism can appear in these makeshift fanzines.
Another think that was mentioned in this film was that many artists didn’t clarify themselves as punk at the time. Which is interesting as it seems the culture and scene of punk was established much later. But punk wasn’t one genre or idea. It stemmed from the boredom and aggression of the seventies punk of London and the US, leading to the underground hardcore scene in the eighties and from that turned into bands like Nirvana. So it is really hard to define punk as one subculture or group however this film covered it well overall. Even groups which are now characterised as new wave came out of the punk scene and were defined as punk. I find hard to see bands ‘noise’ new wave bands like Sonic Youth as punk but I guess the diy aesthetic and the fact they stood up and made something new, which in many ways could be considered punk ideals.
This film was thoroughly entertaining and interesting as a documentary as its expressions were not from a historian but from those involved in the scene themselves. If you haven’t seen it views it via the link or rent it out. For the fact that this is a review I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJazCUay56Q

Contains The Episode 9 of Punk Years Documentary.

Interesting video looking at indepedents in punk scene.

I have just started a blog that will look at aspects of the Do it yourself initiative in punk music.