A little more than 40 years ago, a small music revolution started growing in major cities in Europe and the U.S. The sound and the subsequent fashion of its creators shocked many and was marked by many more as forgettable.
But much to the dismay of its critics, “punk” stuck, working its way into pop culture via music, fashion and art.
Some of punk’s early female contributors will be honored Saturday at The Lost Dog Bar & Lounge for a combined art show and concert. The music will be provided by local rock trio The Crags and the Mancos duo Baby Toro. The art portion will display the art of Baby Toro guitarist and vocalist Hardison Collins.
“Heroines; Lost Female Punk Icons” is Collins’ homage to women in the early punk period, notably in the years leading up to 1980. As punk rose to prominence in Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles, women were just as involved in the movement as men, until aggression became the norm on stage and in the slam-dance pit and made it a man’s world.
“These are women involved in the initial punk explosion. And really, there was a lot back then,” Collins said. “The people I picked to depict here are just a small slice. There was a huge amount of women involved in the punk scene. As things evolved/devolved into the hardcore world, women disappeared.”
For his medium, Hardison chose to produce his images not on canvas or by photography, but instead used pages from an old pulp novel. For this run, the novel is Wine of Satan, selected solely for its title.
“It’s a collision between digital art and ephemera-type stuff,” he said. “I start with a photograph, and I reduce it down to its most basic black and white parts where you can still recognize the person, which is important in this instance because I’m working with people that are not well known but should be. Everyone should know who Siouxsie Sioux is. Then I start this business of creating a pallete for the single color that is going to go on top of it. In that respect, I’m just mimicking offset printing, which doesn’t happen anymore because the digital world has made it obsolete. Then I print the whole thing on vintage book pages. I picked this book because Wine of Satan is so ridiculous.”
The art is as unique and obscure as punk music was in its toddler years; Collins admits these women are his personal heroines; a group of ladies who left a mark on the music and fashion world, even if most people didn’t know it.
“Some of these women did get a little bit famous – Debbie Harry became famous – but most of them didn’t. They played a really important role in the art world and, really, style world that we live in now,” Collins said. “It’s impossible to not find people who were at least punk-informed or who weren’t directly involved in the punk scene when you look at American artists, American designers and American creators today. That’s where they came from.”
Liggett_b@fortlewis.edu. Bryant Liggett is a freelance writer and KDUR station manager.
Bryant’s Best
Today: Country music with Travis Tritt and The High Rollers, 7 p.m., $25/$35/$45. Sky Ute Casino Resort, 14324 Highway 172, Ignacio, 563-7777.
Saturday: Baby Toro and The Crags will play the “Heroines, Lost Female Punk Icons” art show, 6 p.m., no cover, Lost Dog Bar & Lounge, 1150 Main Ave., 259-0430.
