Page Title: Mark Vallen's Punk Rock Portraits

Page Description: Paintings and drawings documenting the early Los Angeles punk rock scene.

Page Keywords: Mark Vallen, Vallen, punk rock portraits, Claude Bessy, Claude Bessey, Kick Boy, Kick Boy Face, Catholic Discipline, Decline of Western Civilization, Penelope Spheeris, mohawk, Flesh Eaters, Chris D., Germs, Darby Crash, Lorna Doom, Black Randy and the Metro Squad, Black Flag, Sue Tissue, Surburban Lawns, Nervous Gender, Phranc, Vinyl Fetish, Public Image, L7, Plugz, Crass, Dead Kennedys, Jello Biafra, UXA, Fear, The Clash, Clash, Sex Pistols, Screamers, Tomata du Plenty, Tommy Gear, X, Exene, John Doe, Wild Gift, Deadbeats, Dickies, Skulls, Wierdos, What we do is secret, We got the Neutron Bomb, Masque, Bags, Slash, Slash magazine, Robbie Fields, Posh Boy, Come Back To Haunt You, Los Angeles Artist, Art for a Change

Page Text: Pat Bag - Vallen. Linoleum block print. 1979 ( purchase here ). Punk Portraits Los Angeles 1977 punk scene veteran All artworks are accompanied by remarks from the artist: "Way back in the late 1970's before personal computers, cell phones, MTV, the alternative music press, iPods, and the Internet - there was punk rock. As an artist I've always been interested in oppositional culture and the shock of the new, so when the punk rock movement hit Los Angeles in the 70's, I immediately recognized it as fertile ground for expressions of dissent and cultural insurrection and wasted no time in joining the ranks of the "Blank Generation." I frequented the legendary Masque, L.A.'s infamous first punk club, and saw many of the performances given by early bands like the Germs, Deadbeats, Weirdos, Dickies, Black Randy and the Metro Squad, Skulls, Flesh Eaters, X, and the Screamers. I worked a short stint at Slash magazine (L.A.'s premiere punk propaganda journal), and played a small role in working on The Decline of Western Civilization (the 1980 documentary film on L.A.'s punk movement directed by Penelope Spheeris). My committed participation in all of this lead to a series of paintings and drawings that not only documented the ferment, but actively promoted and encouraged it. The artworks presented on this page represent just some of the works accomplished during those tumultuous years. I've included drawings that were published in Slash and the LA WEEKLY as well as works that never made it outside of my studio. A few of the works presented here are unfinished quick sketches I did at some early punk shows. Like a crazed punk rock court reporter sketch artist, I'd sometimes take a drawing pad into the clubs. Under such chaotic circumstances it was difficult to actually come up with any good drawings, but on occasion I'd have some successes. Some of these sketches are offered on these pages and I consider them to be the best works I did as a punk war reporter. People found politics and each other through the music - an international community was born that stood outside of and against the status quo. While much has changed in the world since punk first reared its ugly head, the original reasons for its rise still remain. Today as we struggle to find new cultural forms with which to express our outrage and discontent, we're experiencing a resurgence of punk. New generations are running with the tattered banner of '77. Hopefully, by examining the artifacts of a rebellious past offered on these pages, new strategies for the battle against complacency can be envisioned."

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