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The (forbidden) art of punk: from practice to theory

McLaughlin, C. (2016) The (forbidden) art of punk: from practice to theory. Invited Presentation presented to: 3rd Annual Punk Scholars Network Conference and Postgraduate Symposium: The Art of Punk, The University of Northampton, 25 November 2016.

Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Invited Presentation)
Abstract: Individualism and the self, (self-determination, self-reliance, self-expression, self-sovereignty etc.) lie at the very heart of punk subculture. Academia, on the other hand, privileges objectivity and the impersonal; self-reflection is rare and largely dissuaded. A symposium on the Art of Punk, however, offers a unique opportunity to take experimental approaches. In this presentation, I intend to break with my normative, impersonal, academic approach and engage in radical self-reflection. By reflecting on the experimental, transformative and political nature of my own practice, I aim to extrapolate the theoretical frameworks that support and inform it. Being reflective about my own creative practice and my past self-definition—and ongoing sympathies—with punk, and comparing and contrasting this with my current research interests in occulture and radical spiritual praxis, has offered insights into the underlying theoretical frameworks that govern both. The art of punk and occulture both, in a sense, are queer practices, marginalised practices. By their very nature these things contravene conformity and normativity and this contravention itself, is the practitioner’s primary objective, that is: taking radical responsibility for one’s self and by extension one’s self-expression.
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology > HM621 Culture > HM646 Subculture
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology > BF1404 Occult sciences
Creators: McLaughlin, Cavan
Faculties, Divisions and Institutes: Faculties > Faculty of Arts, Science & Technology > Journalism, Media & Performance
Date: 25 November 2016
Date Type: Publication
Event Title: 3rd Annual Punk Scholars Network Conference and Postgraduate Symposium: The Art of Punk
Event Dates: 25 November 2016
Event Location: The University of Northampton
Event Type: Conference
Language: English
Status: Published / Disseminated
Related URLs:
URI: http://nectar.northampton.ac.uk/id/eprint/9599

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