“Punk
stood for DIY culture, which of course now is so current and crucial, and a
rejection of racism and sexism, with a little bit of nihilism thrown in.”
Professor
John Schofield & Professor Paul Graves-Brown
While
you might not think to tap into academic minds for cultural insight on what
punk might have once stood for, Professors Schofield and Graves-Brown are
anything but traditional. The insight stems from a recent conversation we had
with the two gentlemen, whose collective archaeological research assisted in
the upgrading of the heritage status of the mews house building at No. 6
Denmark Street, thanks to drawings left on the walls by the former Sex Pistols
frontman. The caricatures by author John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, led to the
building being upgraded from Grade II to the prestigious Grade II* listed
status by Historic England. This, somewhat rightly, conveniently coincided with
Punk’s 40th Anniversary.
Earlier
this year we spent some time with John Schofield and Paul Graves-Brown to
better understand the drawings housed in the one-time home of the Sex Pistols,
and their journey from the ‘70s to present day. “We’d heard about them in an
interview on Steve Lamacq's BBC 6 programme back in 2008. We were both
listening to the show and contacted each other about making a visit to see them
for ourselves.”
One
can imagine that hearing about this is of course one thing, but actually going
to see them is quite another. “We were both struck by the quality of John
Lydon's caricatures, and enjoyed finding out who all the people were. This was
made much easier because the caricatures were so accurate. We were also
struck by how much artwork there was, and its diversity, from the pencil
sketch of Jah Wobble to the large words and slogans. Sid and Nancy really stood
out, as well as the picture of Malcolm clutching the money.”
Over
time these drawings have caused some controversy, so we asked the professors
why they thought this might have been: “Partly because the Pistols were
themselves controversial and partly because some people don't see contemporary
material culture as important. We certainly stoked it up a bit by publishing
our work in a leading archaeology journal called Antiquity and issuing a press
release claiming these artworks were as important as prehistoric cave
paintings.” One can only imagine that, having some hand in the fanning of those
cultural flames, must have somewhere made Mr Lydon smile.
But
like every story with folklore and cultural narrative, there’s a counter
argument that perhaps Lydon’s own caricature was in fact not from his own hand
due to differing brush strokes and movements. The professors commented: “An art
historian who saw one of us give a lecture about this said he thought the
Johnny picture was likely by a different hand. But really it's all
speculation.” This of course only adding to the mythos of these four
walls.
Time with one professor, let alone two, is rare - so we couldn’t end our
conversation without enquiring about their views on how these drawings might be
talked about decades from now: “As a monument to popular music history. Punk
was a vitally important moment yet, apart from the music and what people have
written about it, very little survives, physically. The mews house at No. 6
Denmark Street and the artworks are very rare surviving examples, and are
now Grade II* listed because of their significance. Much like cave paintings,
these artworks will only become increasingly more significant with the passing
of time.”
Back
then drama, protest and shock value were tactics commonly employed by
anarchists and punks with the express intent of shining a light on their
perspective and movement. But punk itself was raw and powerful and consistently
asked the question of just where the alternative scene fitted into popular
culture, a question generations still ask even today. John Lydon’s drawings
represent the spirit of the moment and very much belong to that specific time.
But as Lydon himself might tell you and the professors would concur, whatever
you do, don’t call them graffiti: “The caricatures are not graffiti, but the
room is a palimpsest which includes some examples of what might conventionally
be called graffiti. When Johnny said that it was art, he was almost certainly
referring to the caricatures and these are really very accomplished.”
But
today and onwards, they’ll be known as “drawings of cultural significance”. Chateau
Denmark’s guests will have the unrivalled privilege of waking up or staying up
in some punk history.
If
you’d like to get in touch with Professor Schofield and Professor Graves-Brown,
you can do so here or here.