Vasilios

Avramidis
Final Paper
August 25, 2011
What is Art?
Slam Dance Warrior: Coming-of-Age Rituals in the Punk Community
Rituals have always been a part of traditional culture in the history of
humanity. Often, the most significant ritual in the life of a male has been the
rite of passage, or initiation into manhood. After years of involvement in the
punk rock movement, it is evident that the live punk music experience is a
type of coming-of-age ritual. But is that factor a sufficient reason to consider
punk rock art? "While some may advocate a theory of art as ritual: [where]
ordinary objects and acts acquire symbolic significance through incorporation
into a shared belief system" (Freeland 2), is there sufficient evidence to
claim that the punk rock subculture embodies a culturally significant
experience among its members? In order to justify the punk rock live music
experience as a cultural ritual its adherents must have a common
understanding of it symbols and language. "For participants in a ritual,
clarity and agreement of purpose are central: the ritual reinforces the
community's proper relation to God or nature through gestures that
everyone knows and understands" (Freeland 4). An analysis of the live punk
rock music experience will reveal that it is a participatory ritual with
hierarchies, shamanistic figures, and a common language that is understood
by the members of its community. Like most traditional cultures, the
coming-of-age rituals of the punk subculture are not unisex, but differ along
gender lines. Since the majority of the punk rock community is male, and
the most dramatic rituals are masculine in nature, it is the male rite of

passage that will be explored here.

Traditional cultures have always valued the importance of ritual as a
means of granting the youth full status as members of the community. While
these rituals vary from community to community, they share common
elements which are echoed in the punk rock subculture. The rite of passage
has been seen as a rebirth, from infancy into manhood. The central theme of
these "male initiation rites ... is a change in identity: the death of the boy,
the resurrection of the man" (Raphael 4). This same stage of development
can be seen in the punk rock sub-culture as male members of the
community graduate from a bodily participation to contemplative
involvement. "In analyzing gigs as a part of the general phenomenon of
youth culture, one can see the narrative of the conversion of physically and
emotionally exuberant youth to adulthood" (Fonorow 182). In traditional
cultures, these rites of passage are often marked by violent and morbid acts,
involving bodily mutilation, scarring, and feats of daring. Acts of courage and
bravery in the face of bodily pain are a hallmark of the traditional
coming-of-age rituals. "Why do these rituals tend to be so morbid? At least
in part, it's for the drama. The tasks at hand are severe - the negation of the
weakness endemic to childhood, the affirmation of strength required for
manhood" (Raphael 6).
For the vast majority of youth in the punk culture, their rite of passage
is marked by violent and aggressive movement within the main zone of
participation at live shows. The space for these rituals takes place in the
zone closest to the stage. According to Wendy Fonorow, the live
performance venue is broken into three modes of participation. "Where a

participant locates himself is read by other participants as communicative.

Space is culturally organized and therefore the use of the body in space is a
meaning making process" (Fonorow 80). Placing oneself in this zone of
participation demonstrates to the community that the participant has
reached a point of maturity that allows him to leave the safety of his
parents, and the bleachers, and that he is ready to begin his training for
manhood. Within this zone however, there are two sub-groups. Those that
train for war, and those that train to teach.
The vast majority of participants fall into the warrior category. Those
are the ones who are most active and visible. They are the ones who enter
the mosh-pit, a violent dance circle where participants run into each other
with wild abandon, demonstrating their strength and courage. This type of
dancing is often referred to as slam dancing. In this zone, fear is banished.
When interviewed about the danger of placing oneself in this zone,
participants often flippantly answer, "You are supposed to get hurt. That's
the point." The most dangerous aspect of this sub-zone is stage diving. This
act, which echoes the Vanuatu tribal "bungee" jumpers, involves youth
breaking through a wall of security guards in order to get on stage, only to
jump off it again, landing on top of the crowd. This act is fraught with
danger. First, the participant must break through the row of security guards
who stand in front of the stage like a sentry, ready to pounce upon any
concert goer brave enough to attempt the breach. Failing to break through
the wall of guards often results in the participant receiving brutal blows, and
being ejected from the event.
Unlike a church which also has zones of participation meant to control

movement and access, the punk rock culture encourages movement across
"forbidden walls." In a church, the alter is usually reserved for the priests,
but at a punk rock show, the musicians, who are the shaman and priests,
often encourage the young members of the community to break the "wall"
and come up to the altar on stage. Once on stage, they leap back into the
audience where they are caught by their peers. This is where the majority of
injuries occur. Stage divers are occasionally dropped, but the greatest
danger is for the concert goers who are jumped on. Neck and head injuries
are not unheard of, but as the participants themselves claim, "that's the
point." It would not be a warrior's rite of passage if they did not risk injury.
The ritual dance of this warrior class can be seen in the following video
clips. Here we see the shaman, the musicians, calling the participants to
action and guiding them into the ritual. As the band leader prepares the
audience for the climax of the event, certain members of this ritual group
can be seen entering the circle to demonstrate their bravado. Once the ritual
is underway it looks like an all out brawl, but it is a communal experience
designed to make men out of boys.
http://youtu.be/5jKU7gdxncE

A second video clip similarly shows the shaman of the punk society
challenging the youthful members, provoking them into a larger and more
aggressive display. (Please excuse the language that is used in these videos,
but this is common parlance for this community.)
http://youtu.be/nOHY1YxX5iA

These types of aggressive circles are not uncommon to traditional cultures.

At Mecca, for example, pilgrims circle the Kaaba seven times. It is not
uncommon for pilgrims to be trampled to death while on pilgrimage. The
Muslim faithful, however, are not deterred, the risk of injury is worth the
reward gained through participation in the ritual.
The second sub-group within this zone of participation are the
teachers. This sub-group tends to be smaller and less active than the warrior
group, and although they are not as aggressive, they still face risk. This
group tends to gather close to the stage. "The density [here is] very high.
Often horizontal pressure is such that a person might be lifted off the ground
from the shear force of other bodies pressing against him" (Fonorow 82).
This area is populated by the most serious participants. These are the youth
who study the movements of the band intently. They know the music
intimately and can often recite the histories of the bands and punk rock
events. They are familiar with the philosophies of the bands, and the politics
of the movement. They are the group that will make up the future chieftains
and historians.
This group, however, is not solely inactive and intellectual, after all
they too must demonstrate their manhood and courage. These are the
participants responsible for catching stage divers, and the ones who will
hoist crowd-surfers overhead. Being kicked or punched in the head is not
uncommon. A further danger for this group is heat stroke and crushing
force. Event promoters will often spray cool water over this group of
participant to help stave off heat related illness. It is in this area that most
trampling injuries occur.
Those who graduate from this rite of passage in the punk rock

movement will enter the second zone, the contemplatives. This zone is made
up of older members of the community who have paid their time in the first
zone. These older members are the leaders and teachers. They are the ones
who tend to contemplate the meaning of the music and the ritual. They are
the community's aesthetic philosophers. "Rather than exhibiting the wild and
physical exuberant displays of zone one, zone two audience members are
physically circumspect and deeply focused on the performance" (Fonorow
105). There is a marked difference between the participants of zone one and
zone two. Where zone one participation is marked by movement, zone two is
marked by contemplation.
The music that sets the stage for this rite of passage is a hard driving,
highly rhythmic beat that stimulates action. What most participants are
unaware of is the "historical source of this metronomic music. In fact, if one
traces [punk music] back trough rock and rhythm 'n' blues, to swing and
jazz, and before that to rag time, one comes to the ancestor of all - the
military marching band. [What is] the point of the marching band except to
regiment" (Goldblatt 322)? But does punk music serve to regiment its
adherents, to give them uniformity and order? At first glance an outsider
might not think so. In fact, the very adherents of the punk rock movement
would claim that they are not regimented or uniform, but highly
individualized and creative. Is this really the case?
When an outside observer takes a closer look at the community, and
looks past the apparent disorder and shock of the punk rock ritual, the
observer notices a high degree of uniformity. In the film SLC Punk, which
explores the punk rock sub-culture through the eyes of a punk rock kid in

Salt Lake City, Brandy, an outsider criticizes the main character Steve-O
saying:
"You wanna be an individual, right? You look like you're wearing a uniform.
You look like a punk. That's not rebellion. That's fashion" (SLC Punk! 1988).
There is a great deal of uniformity among the participants at a punk rock
show. A careful observation will reveal that there is an accepted uniform.
Wildly styled hair that has been colored, t-shirts with band logos or political
slogans, visible tattoos, piercings that go beyond the ear lobe, boots, etc.,
all make up the common appearance of the punk rock adherent. Tattoos and
body piercings are another ritual aspect of the culture. The more tattoos and
piercings that one has, the greater their status within the community.
Tattoos and piercings denote courage and rebellion, traits that are highly
valued among the punk rock community.
Further evidence of uniformity is in the formation of the clearly
demarcated zones of participation. The younger members of the punk rock
community would never think of forming a mosh-pit in the zone occupied by
the elders of the community. Similarly they would not stage dive into the
bleacher seating occupied by the youngest members of the community, and
often their parents. So within the apparent disorder, there is a level of order
and decorum that is understood by even the youngest and most rebellious
members of the community.
But is this art? Is this ritualistic event on par with traditional tribal and
organized religious ritual? According to traditional western aesthetic values it
would be difficult to classify the live punk rock experience as art.
Traditionally western aesthetics have been concerned with beauty and taste.

Immanuel Kant believed that the beauty of the work itself informed us as to
whether or not it was good, not just our personal tastes. But there is nothing
classically beautiful about the punk rock experience; the music is dissonant,
the lighting and the stage performance are crude, and the dancing chaotic.
The punk rock experience has nothing to do with beauty, and the adherents
themselves would attest to that. But modern aesthetic theory and the
contemporary art world have devalued the quest for beauty in art. Today's
art has less to do with standards of beauty, than the art of antiquity did.
Since beauty is not the goal, then perhaps a different theory might suffice,
one that better supports the intention and structure of the punk community.
Instrumentalist theories "of aesthetics are based on the belief that art
should do something worthwhile for the community that produces it. Art
should serve as a tool - an instrument - for human betterment" (Anderson
240). This is supported by David Hume's ideas that artists should support
enlightenment values and work towards moral betterment. Punk sub-culture
and the music that it is centered on are highly moralistic in their own way.
The music is most often very political in nature, espousing anarchist ideals of
self-government and equality. The music tends to be notably polemic and
lays virulent assault against the established order. While the music itself
may be instrumentalist, is the ritual participation in the event an integral
part of the art form, or simply an outgrowth of the music? Furthermore, do
the members of the punk community understand and embrace the
philosophy espoused by the music?
In answer to the first question, the participatory ritual is an integral
part of the punk music experience. From its inception, the punk music

experience has been synonymous with the mosh-pit. There was often great
confusion and misunderstanding among security guards at the earliest punk
rock shows. They mistook the ritual dancing for fighting and would
wrongfully intervene in an attempt to "break up" what they perceived as
fights. The young men of course were not fighting and this often led to
animosity towards the security forces who were seen as oppressive symbols
of the establishment, furthering the rebellious nature of the community.
Frequent clashes with security guards, and a better understanding of the
punk sub-culture has led to less intervention by security in the ritual zone at
shows, but animosity towards security has remained. This can perhaps
explain the stage diving phenomenon described above, whereby young
concert goers attempt to break through the security wall and get on stage,
often at the encouragement of the shaman/musician. This gesture of
breaking through the security wall is seen by members of the punk
movement as a symbolic salvo against oppressive police and government
forces. Some live punk shows have even been canceled early after too many
of the youth break the security wall and guards feel they have lost control.
Occasionally band members have been arrested for 'inciting a riot' because
of the encouragement they gave concert goers to 'breach the wall'.
As for the second question, do the members of the punk movement
understand and embrace the philosophy espoused by the music, the answer
is less clear. Like any organization, group, or culture, knowledge and
understanding vary among its members. Within a church for example, which
is also instrumentalist in its use of art, knowledge varies. Even among active
participants, their understanding of the philosophy behind the liturgy will

vary greatly. While some may have a thorough understanding of the

message, for others, the message is almost inconsequential. They
participate in the ritual because they know that is what they are supposed to
do, and they understand its cultural context, but have no deeper
understanding of its underlying philosophy. This lack of understanding does
not diminish their capacity to appreciate the ritual, and grasp its importance.
The same variety of comprehension can be seen in the punk sub-culture.
While some members of the community will have a tremendous grasp of the
musical and cultural philosophy, the understanding of others remains
cursory. Their lack of understanding, however, does not diminishing the
importance of participating in the ritual. Though their knowledge may not be
complete, and their understanding elementary, they have a general grasp of
the cultural context. Others in the community, who serve as its leaders,
philosophers, and teachers, have a greater understanding of the aesthetic
function of the event. Some will even take upon themselves the role of
evangelist, distributing zines (sub-culture newsletters) in an attempt to
enlighten the less informed members of the community. Many parallels can
be seen between the structure and organization of the punk sub-culture and
organized religion.
This point brings us to a more modern understanding of what art is.
According to Arthur C. Danto, art requires a cultural context that can be
grasped by both artist and audience. Danto contends that most aesthetic
theory in the past was merely art criticism disguised as theory. It often
reflected the philosophers' own likes and dislikes, or the cultural context.
Warhol's Brillo pad, for example, would not have been accepted in the

Medieval era, or Ancient Greece. In fact, it was not even immediately

accepted in his own era, but has now become a mainstay of the art word
and aesthetic. Danto's "pluralist theory helps explain why the art world now
accepts such diverse entries as blood-fests, dead sharks, and plastic surgery
as art" (Freeland 57). If it fits within the cultural context, and that culture
shares a common theory with the art, then it is art. Under these guidelines,
the punk rock experience must be considered as culturally relevant art.
Morris Weitz further reinforces this open concept when he says that art
cannot have a closed definition. One cannot say for certain what art is, or
isn't, it is simply judged by its 'family resemblance'. This is what
"Wittgenstein called an open definition ... that is, the best we can ever do is
note the several traits that commonly give a family resemblance to those
things that we think of as art. When we meet things with which we are
unfamiliar, either because they are new or come from other cultures, they
are judged to be art according to the degree to which they share these
familial similarities"(Anderson 4). The only question therefore that can be
asked of the punk rock experience is 'does it bare resemblance to other
ritual art experiences?' The answer is a resounding yes.
While it may not be an exact replica of any one traditional ritual, it
bares sufficient resemblance to numerous other ritual experiences and
therefore, according to the standards of Danto, Weitz, and Wittgenstein,
must be considered art. Whether it is the daring 'bungee' jumps of the
Vanuatu tribe, the Masai Warrior dances, the trance like dances of shaman,
the body modification and scarring of countless tribes and cultures, the
Muslim Haj with its dangerous march around the Kaaba, or the zone

structure of the western church, the punk music experience bares a

resemblance to ritual experience of the past. It has a direct link to the
repository of human art and ritual experience, and therefore has culturally
significant meaning; even if that meaning is relevant only to a small
sub-culture.
When human beings lose their traditional ritual experiences, they will
always seek after ways to re-create those rituals, in order to build
community and find meaning. "The anagogic capacity of art during the
Middle Ages, Indian rasa theory, the Navajo efforts to maintain hozho via
the creation of art ... each of these represents an effort by society to survive
by means of art production" (Anderson 264). Art makes meaning of the
world, creates community, and fosters a common philosophy. The punk rock
experience is no different. The members of the community seek to make
meaning of the world around them through ritual and music. While this ritual
may seem barbaric and full of chaos to the outsider, it is full of meaning for
its participants. John Dewey said that the best way to understand a culture
was through its art, because "Art expresses the life of the community"
(Freeland 78). Therefore, rather than looking on in horror at the ritualistic
fervor of the punk community and condemning it, it would be more prudent
to examine it, and try to gain an understanding of its underlying aesthetic
philosophy; perhaps then, a common ground can be found that will bring
people of varying cultures together under a meta-aesthetic that can be
shared by all of humanity.
Citations
Anderson, Richard L. Calliope's Sisters: A Comparative Study of Philosophies
of Art.

(2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearsons, 2004. Print.

Fonorow, Wendy. Empire of Dirt: The Aestherics and Rituals of Brittish Indie
Music.
Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2006. Print.
Freeland, Cynthia. But is it Art?. Oxford: Oxford Press, 2001. Print.
Goldblatt, David and Lee B. Brown Eds. Aesthetics: A Reader in Philosophy
of the Arts.
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.
Merendino, James, dir. SLC Punk!. Sony Picture Classics, 1999. Film.
Raphael, Ray. The Men from the Boys: Rites of Passage in Male America.
Lincoln, NE:
University of Nebraska Press, 1988. Print.