Woody Martin
Reading, UK
Project Question
How did a global youth movement emerge in a town and what is its legacy?
Aim and Objective
The aim is to examine how we perceive the world differently. I believe the most challenging time of life for most people is their teenage years.
Looking back on the previous modules, I saw that mental health is something that is really in the spotlight at the moment and so I thought that a study based on teenage years and the perspectives of the outside world versus internal would be interesting.
I had the objective of discovering how the locale and society has been affected by it and seeing what the longterm geographical and societal influences were.
Final Outcome
How did a global youth movement emerge in a town and what is its legacy?
I have found that punk emerged in Reading from the radio play and lending of the single ‘New Rose’ by The Damned.
This wasn’t the only reason but it was seemingly a really common reason. It was also passed from seeing other punks on the street and its spirit of fighting against the established norm – the feeling of depression in the 70s was rife with industry leaving and entertainment being largely controlled by the media and the upper
classes (even the bands that were bigger at the time were middle class white people such as Queen and Genesis). The kids at home that were in abusive relationships were seeing punk and the community it created as a new family that they could join. (such as R. Schnell that I have quoted in the book). It spread in a very early version of viral marketing with it passing from person to person which is fascinating as the lines of communication were very limited so it would literally be passed physically from person to person rather than just targeted online marketing as everything is spread now.
In terms of legacy, it improved race relations within Reading which hasn’t been known as a very integrated place. There occasionally still are race frictions and there are certain areas where races are more concentrated. Punk was a minority movement which linked minorities together through their shared experience as victims of prejudism, the punks and reggae link that I discovered has been quite eye-opening.
The left leaning punks also got along with other groups through their more liberal outlook. The main legacy that I have discovered is by far the more social effects rather than the geographic.
The relationships and passed on values of the punks and the following scenes and youth groups are still visible and being passed on. The punks from the Star still meet regularly and talk about the old days, without punk, they would be different people. I have an interest in punk and my political views from my parents and their punk views. Geographically, very little is left of
the punk scene due to Reading’s gentrification and rampant commercialism. Having said that, the Purple Turtle is the last remaining punkesque venue in Reading so there at least is a spiritual home to punk still.
Punk’s legacy is certainly a cultural one in Reading.
How has your practice developed while studying the MA in Graphic Design with a global cohort?
I have begun to trust in my skillset and learned that bold is better. Look beyond your usual practice and discover that there is always a new way to work.