Pain Industries

The Art of Punk:

A review of Daniel Wojcik's book - Punk and Neo-Tribal Body Art

Wojcik examines this sub-culture's trends from two angles - in the 1970s, he too was swept up by it's appeal, and now, as a folklorist he can look at it from a more detached view. In regards to being a part of the punk rock movement Wojcik says: "There was something exciting about it: the music, the attitude, the shock aesthetic, the do-it-yourself aspect, the sense of irony, the horror and condemnation that it evoked in the media. Early punk style was like a form of Dadaism enacted in the streets - a grassroots swelling of expressive culture that exploded into music and art, body adornment and performance."

As a folklorist, Wojcik is interested in the cultures of everyday people. "I'm interested in the ways that the punk movement, especially punk body adornment, challenged dominant ideas in society: ideas about appearance, the body, gender, sexuality, fashion, the music industry, you name it . . . Early punk was exciting because it was dangerous and threatening, at least symbolically. It upset a lot of people. Nowadays, we've seen it all. We're jaded and not much is shocking anymore."

The book also looks at how punk style was co-opted and commercialized by the media and how, in response, some punks adopted a neo-tribal or urban primitive style. Wojcik's case in point is Perry Farrell (Jane's Addiction, Porno for Pyros and Lollapalooza inventor). "Part of the book focuses on one punk's reason for being a punk and the aesthetic of his body art. Ironically, the person that I focused on was Perry Farrell, who was unknown and unemployed in 1985." (when Wojcik interviewed him for the book) "Farrell is interesting because he was a punk, then later embraced forms of body adornment inspired by non-Western body modification - tattooing, piercing, scarification - to create an individual style in response to the commercialization of punk. The body art he chose reflected his world view, sense of aesthetics, interest in ritual and an identification with tribal cultures."

Wojcik sees a big distinction between punk rock style and the neo-tribalists movement. "Modern primitives or neo-tribalists tend to emphasize the personal, erotic, or spiritual benefits of body alteration; the original punks used body art to express their sense of alienation, despair or anger. The punks I knew tended to revel in the shocking or self-destructive aspects of body alterations; neo-tribalist body art often stresses transformation - gaining control over one's body, undergoing a rite of passage, or the desire to carve an individual identity in a conformist culture."

Whatever the intent, Wojcik regards all body art as a form of self-expression - "Body adornment can be a way for people to empower themselves through style, it's a way to shock, to express estrangement from mainstream society, to symbolically challenge the status quo. It distinguishes someone from the mainstream, it serves as a badge of identity and it can be a way for people to create an identity and a sense of community."

Wojcik, however, does not foresee a day when tattooing and piercing will become fully mainstream - because they are so expressive and personal. "Even though body art has become somewhat more acceptable in society, I doubt it will ever be completely accepted, even if it is aesthetically pleasing and meaningful for people. . . It still takes a certain courage to get tattooed, pierced, or have your body permanently modified in some other way."

Daniel Wojcik is an Assistant Professor at the University of Oregon where he teaches folklore in the English Department. The book, Punk and Neo-Tribal Body Art, is available through University Press of Mississippi. He is currently working on a new book on apocalyptic world views and doomsday notions.

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