MF Gallery Event Proves Punk Really is Dead
I recently decided to explore the Lower East Side again to see if anything was out there. It used to be this cutting-edge area, but thats been long gone. Still, I wasnt prepared for what I saw. I went to Paint It at the [MF Gallery] on 157 Rivington Street a couple of Saturdays ago, where over 20 artists live-painted the walls. This isnt something that happens everyday, so I was naturally curious. I made the trek through the scaffold-ridden, hipster-plagued streets to the gallery. Its located a little further east than usual, so I was hopeful that something worthwhile would be happening when I arrived.
I found multi-colored Mohawks, lots of leather and expensive punk rock clothing (those [St Marks punk wannabes would have been destroyed]). They must have spent some time at that store that replaced CBGB, the one that sells $500 jeans. On the positive note, I really didnt see the typical hipsters. There was not an ironic mustache or an elongated sideburn anywhere on the block.
I was willing to give this a shot. In my youth, I lived in a punk rock house where I paid $80 a month for rent and shared the place with my band. We all lived over this bar in a very bad neighborhood. The funny thing is that the locals were a little wary of us. There were some artists among us who painted murals on the stairway walls. Every time the door would open, primitive, figurative and abstract murals could be seen from the street. The neighborhood thought that we were into voodoo or Satanism (which was a joke).
I bring up all of this because much of what I saw at the MF Gallery was even more of a joke. I have never seen so many clean-cut punks in one place. That in itself isnt really something to complain about, but get this: they were painting pictures of punk rockers on the walls! Is this what passes as punk rock art these days? I could hardly contain my laughter. Most striking was one mural of a punk rocker that had a CBGB tattoo. The artist should have gone all out and had him wear a CBGB T-shirt, too. At least then, there could have been some social commentary of the downward state of our society. Instead, the irony passed by. Still, the technique was quite good.
I could imagine if these murals were on the walls of my old digs. Instead of us being respected, we would have surely been robbed (at least). All in all, it was way too wholesome. Ive seen edgier campfire sing-a-longs.
[ MF Gallery, 157 Rivington St., Wednesday through Sunday 2-7pm]