Punk Rock at the MoMA

The punk rock era captured the true spirit of anti-establishment and rebellion. Although I wasn’t sure of what to completely expect, I could have almost been certain that such a museum display would capture the true rebellious and exciting essence of this period.

Walking into the exhibit, I was greeted by mostly mundane pieces: televisions playing music videos, newspaper clippings, and headphones playing the songs of famous punk rock artists. I can experience all of these from the comfort of my own home. Very few of the displayed items were actually unique. One of the most disappointing features of the exhibit, however, was the lack of actual punk rock artwork. Punk rock is not just a music genre; it is an artistic movement. There are many of us today who are well aware of punk rock artists and their music, but few of us, including myself, know about punk rock as an art movement. Although the exhibit did feature several of Jenny Holzer’s works as well as “The Game” video of the rocks, the display fell short of providing more anti-establishment art work that originated from the era of garage bands.

The display itself was also flawed; for an era of anti-establishment, the highly ordered structure of this exhibit seemed to be ironic. Not a single rebellious emotion could be evoked by the seemingly tidy and structured display. The exhibit was also extremely short, composed of a laconic sampling of several punk rock artists and only a handful of other punk rock-related pieces. Punk rock, however, was an extremely influential era, whose effects are still being felt today on the artistic (especially musical) world. A more extensive display of this exhibit is necessary to truly capture its beauty.

Luckily, this display had a few upsides. Although there were only a relatively small number of punk rock artists who were sampled, the exhibit managed to collect some of the most critical and influential musical artists of all time. From Television, The Voidoids, Laurie Anderson, Beth B, Patti Smith, and Blondie, I was impressed by the great collection of artists that were chosen to be sampled.  Overall, although there were a few upsides, the punk rock exhibit at the MoMA failed to live up to expectations.