Pop (art) goes punk at Fullerton Museum Center
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A wall covered in black and white fliers, the kind easily photocopied, lined the walls of the entrance to the Fullerton Museum Center’s latest exhibit, “Punk OC: From the Streets of Suburbia.” Duplicated and distributed outside other punk shows, the paper fliers were a precursor to social media invites and texting.
Co-curated by Fullerton Museum Center curator Georgette Collard and music historian Jim Washburn, “Punk OC” is on view through Aug. 10. The exhibit focuses on Fullerton’s influential punk scene, the evolution of punk in Orange County and how the local scene influenced national and global punk culture.
In conjunction with the opening, the museum hosted a punk show with a live performance from T.S.O.L (True Sounds of Liberty, for the uninitiated) and D.I., two Orange County-based punk bands from Huntington Beach and Fullerton, respectively. Paper fliers weren’t necessary to get the word out about this sold out show, however.
“We had about 1,300 people there,” said Elvia Susana Rubalcava, the museum’s director.
Additionally, the evening included a DJ set from Joe Escalante of the Vandals with actor and comedian Chris Estrada, best known for his hit comedy show on Hulu, “This Fool,” serving as emcee for the evening.
“I think it is really cool what the Fullerton Museum put together here, because there is a rich history of punk in Orange County and in Fullerton specifically, with bands like Social Distortion, Agent Orange and the Adolescents,” Estrada said.
A thriving punk scene might seem unusual for a conservative region like Orange County but Estrada said it isn’t as unusual as one might think.
“I think people have this perception of suburbia, but not everybody feels suburban,” said Estrada.
‘Rockin’ the Suburbs’
Orange County is often viewed as the land of safe cities and pristine beaches. The county also consistently voted red until the mid-2000’s but a statement from Washburn explains the idealistic suburbs were a prime environment for teen restlessness to fester and young punk bands to form.
“Orange County, and Fullerton in particular, has produced far more than its share of bands that made a difference, many with a sound that’s as rooted in O.C. as surf music was. Most of the 1970’s punk scene originated in metropolises suffering from urban decay, poverty, and other issues that justified the anger and nihilism of the music it spawned,” Washburn said. “But what about suburban Orange County, with its manicured lawns, blue skies and beaches? One didn’t have to dig too deep beneath the turf to find that O.C., too, had an underside of outcasts and disaffected youth, for whom this new home-brewed music meant the world.”
Punk is generally regarded as a movement that emerged in the 1970’s and revolved around fast and loud music coupled with anti-establishment attitudes and a DIY aesthetic.
Collard, who has long been interested in documenting punk through the lens of museum studies, points out that like other counter culture movements, punk has historically popped up during times of political and civil unrest.
“I think it is indicative of areas where people feel oppressed or have a certain expectation that they need to be viewed a certain way, a lot of these people grew up with parents that were conservative. I think all of that played a role in this frustration and they needed to have other ways of expressing themselves,” said Collard. “What better way to do that, than with music?”
‘That’s so punk rock’
The exhibit begins with a reference to this very paper. “In 1980, Orange County’s Daily Pilot newspaper ran a front page headline reading: ‘Punk: Fad or Peril?’”
On black and red walls, an array of ephemera from Orange County’s punk scene is on display from bands like the Offspring, Social Distortion, Manic Hispanic, Circle Jerks, the Middle Class and the Adolescents. Guitars and drum kits used by the bands are set up and photos, news clippings and sets lists also line the walls. Featured photographers include Linda Aronow, Alison Braun, Edward Colver, Dina Douglass and Marla Watson.
“T.S.O.L is a huge part of my teenage years, helping with my teenage angst, so to be here to help put this installation together is a dream come true for me,” said Seija Rohkea, a member of Fullerton Museum Center’s board.
Rohkea is also a gallery tech in the art department at Fullerton College and said many students volunteered to help put the exhibition together. She plans to keep the conversation going with her students by planning a field trip with the class to the museum.
A large map on one wall charts the hometowns of O.C. punk bands and tracks the camaraderie in the closely knit music community. Mike Ness, leader singer of Social Distortion, had an apartment on East Wilshire Avenue that became known as the “Black Hole,” a place were musicians and other misfits would come to hang out. Members of the Adolescents were frequent visitors and the apartment inspired their song “Kids of the Black Hole.”
“There are people who are cynical about punk being in a museum, but I think punk is a subculture,” said Estrada. “It has its own symbols, its own language, its own rituals like slam dancing, and its own art. I think that stuff should be archived and celebrated.”
The show is dedicated to the punk rock musicians no longer with us, with a special installation honoring them hanging over the exhibit.
“All the 3-foot banners are black and white photos of all the musicians who have passed away, and now they are looking down on all the people who attended and all they have accomplished,” said Rubalcava.
‘Punks not dead’
The size of the crowd that gathered for the opening is testimony enough that punk is indeed still alive. As T.S.O.L. played, a group of toddlers milled around in circle, creating a mini mosh pit, egged on by a nearby adult. For every aging punker, it seems there is a young person just discovering the music and the movement for the first time.
Besides the live show, the museum is hosting a few more events during the exhibit’s run. On May 20, a book release party for “Tearing Down the Orange Curtain: How Punk Rock Brought Orange County to the World” by Daniel Kohn and Nate Jackson will take place, moderated by Washburn and Collard. On July 12, a book signing with Roger Miret from Agnostic Front is planned and on July 20, Jack Grisham will read from his book, “An American Demon: A Memoir.” The exhibit will close on Aug.10 with Leo Fender Day.
Collard said demonstrating punk rock is still alive and well was among the curators’ most important objectives and she was encouraged by the turn out.
“I feel like a lot of times when we think about punk rock, we think about the golden days of when it started in the late 1970’s and 1980’s, but I want to make sure people know there are still backyard gigs, there are still local shows,” Collard said. “It might evolve and the sound might change, but I feel like punk rock is going to live on forever.”
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