Punk Art: An Exploration
Four case studies from London, West Berlin, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen, 1974-1984
Public Defence of PhD thesis by Marie Arleth Skov.
Punk was visual as much as it was musical. Nonetheless, art history has been late to join other punk scholarship disciplines. The thesis Punk Art: An Exploration looks at the methods, viewpoints, and subject matter of punk art. This exploration is divided into an initial general outline of the history, conflicts, and key features in punk and, secondly, a case-based analysis of four artists groups, each considered within their local punk art scene, located in Western Europe in the time frame 1974 to 1984. The hybrid nature of the punk movement is emphasized: It is thus a crucial point that punk not only transgresses the boundaries between music, poetry, fashion, and visual art, but also between lifestyle, activism, and art. Furthermore, the dissertation shows how punk art is highly involved with the concept of history and how artists involved with punk engaged artistically with prior art movements – especially, but not exclusively, those of the interwar avant-gardes and their re-iterations in the 1960s.
Assessment Committee
- Associate Professor Kristin Veel (University of Copenhagen)
- Professor Jacob Wamberg (Aarhus University)
- Dr Matt Lodder (Essex University)
Moderator of the defence
Associate Professor Devika Sharma (University of Copenhagen)
Copies of the thesis will be available for consultation at the following three places:
- At the Information Desk of the Library of the Faculty of Humanities
- In Reading Room East of the Royal Library (the Black Diamond)
- At the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, Karen Blixens Vej 1
