Pussy Riot: Hooliganism or Heroism

Image: EPA/KERIM OKTEN

Has any popular artist or band in the new millennium mattered any more than Pussy Riot?

From the beginning, the members of Pussy Riot risked subverting their political message with same flashmob tactics and theatricalized sexuality that they employed to gain attention in the first place.

That group members freely combine Realpolitik and Porn within and beyond the conceptual limits of the Pussy Riot project  also suggests the band is not simply an act, but a lifestyle bent on disrupting culture by lobbing incendiary cognitive dissonance devices directly into the public consciousness.

For one, their balaclavas resemble as much bondage hoods as ski masks; for another, one group member has been reported as being an orgy participant; and yet another alleged member of the collective, participating in a non-Pussy performance piece, if we can call it that, stuffed a frozen chicken into her vagina.

The imaginary mental picture I hold of that performance resembles Caesar van Everdingen's 'Woman Playing a Cittern' made over by Andy Warhol and presented by the Symbionese Liberation Army Puppet Theater Company: at turns funny, repulsive, beautiful, titillating, shocking and despicable.

Of course, some decent folk will resist the notion that a woman with a frozen chicken in her vagina is capable of serious intellectual energy, even if at the same time they ably accept a government whose members are also full of something, and yet also still capable of determining serious matters. After all, somebody is buying dildos in Washington, D.C. and Westminster.

One might reasonably argue that porn is never an appropriate tool for the feminists' arsenal, however, the chicken action is not without precedent. For many, 'How to Snatch a Chicken' is fairly reminisce of a another classic and similarly foodcentric act of defiance: 'The Return of the Chocolate-smeared Woman', by American performance artist, Karen Finely.

In this 1994 piece, that artist smeared her naked body with chocolate with the intention that the act be considered a rebuttal against the U.S. Government's legal threat to impose restrictions on grants for 'indecent art', and specifically her own work (National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley).  And as with Pussy Riot's defense against the Russian government, Ms. Finely also lost her case.

She was, however, was awarded a Ms. magazine Woman of the Year award; and today, Finely  teaches at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.

So, it may be that long after their jail sentences fade from the press and public memory, that academic appointments and mainstream professional acceptance await the members of Pussy Riot. And if and when that time comes, it may be your children that they arm with their ideas and ideals, the ideas and ideals necessary to question authority where and when others dare not.

But don't be alarmed, it is, actually, a pro-democracy message that both Finley and Pussy Riot deliver.

Suffice to say that that there are many who though otherwise sympathetic to Pussy Riot's message,  they simply find the group's tactics too offensive or annoying to give their political motivations any thought or credence.

Even among Pussy Riot's activist fans, many misinterpret the group's message. Some project their own politics into the Pussy Riot agenda; others have simply leveraged the Pussy Riot situation and look for their own personal cause. But no wonder why! Pussy Riot's performance at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, and the group member's subsequent persecution presents a successful paradigm to arts activists.

As Nadezhda Tolokonnikova noted at the end of her trial:

"Every day, more people understand that if the system is attacking three young women who performed in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for thirty seconds with such vehemence, it only means that this system fears the truth, sincerity, and straightforwardness we represent."

She also explained that the lyric, 'Holy shit', was not meant as a blasphemous attack on the church or the religion, but merely represented 'our evaluation of the situation in the country'.

In the band's defense, Amnesty International's Michelle Ringuette framed Pussy Riot's performance as 'a peaceful protest song in a Russian Orthodox Cathedral that lasted less than a minute' .  Even one band member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, described the Cathedral take down as a display of 'innocent creativity'.

Certainly, these statements were presented only at the service of their defense, however, because they greatly undervalue the impact of the group's punk prayer. If 'Mother of God, Drive Putin Out' were merely a peaceful song, the women would have failed in their mission. But they did not fail. By the standards by which dissident art is measured, they succeeded and succeeded wildly.

Not to mention that even when presented as pure entertainment, theater is never innocent. And certainly, no one hijacks a church alter and says or sings "Holy shit, shit, Lord's shit!" who isn’t trying to shock and provoke a strong reaction.

Either way, that Pussy Riot's musical actions in the Cathedral  might be a justified measure against a tyrannical state will certainly be a subject of never ending debate, which means that Pussy Riot's punk prayer will to continue to resonate in the public consciousness for many years to come.

Sound of the Year: 2012 – PUSSY RIOT

Photo Image from Pussy Riot's website.

On February 21, 2012, five modestly clad Russian women entered the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, Russia.  And once inside they cast off their black outer wear to reveal brightly colored skirts and tights beneath. Then they pulled equally colorful homemade ski masks over their faces and stormed the front of the church whereby they launched into 'Mother of God, Drive Putin Out', a song that has also been called a 'punk prayer'.

The quartet, composed of several members of the arts activist collective, PUSSY RIOT, staged this bit of disruptive theater as a form of political protest. And in their punk prayer they loudly appealed to the Virgin Mary to chase the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, out of power, along with the oppressive patriarchal political system that they've said Putin represents.

That none of the performers actually played a musical instrument suggests that it was probably not the actual song itself that captured the world’s imagination, but rather how the Russian authorities reacted to this performance that rushed others to their support and pushed the band into the public eye.

First, when news of the group's arrest and a video of the performance was posted online, it created a divide between those who were morally offended by their actions and those who were outraged by their incarceration. While the former argued the the ‘girls’ perhaps needed a bit of manners knocked into them, the latter found inspiration in four strong freedom fighters whose swift silence by the Russian state made their situation a cause célèbre.

That the members of Pussy Riot also looked equal part Teletubby as they did Terrorist gave fashionistas as much a reason to talk about the women's creativity as their politics stirred journalists and Human Rights groups to action. Add to this milieu the ongoing social unrest in the Mideast framed as an ‘Arab Spring’, and the Occupy protests in America, and the members of Pussy Riot seemed to provide yet another potent and creative symbol of ongoing global change.

Which is why, if "We Are All Pussy Riot" as the band's slogan suggests, it's not because of any universal appeal attributable to their music. It's because they came onto the global scene like costumed superheroes and arrived into a world whose economies and power structures seem universally in need of severe disruption. Perfectly suited for the role, icons they became.

As a result, not since the Beatles has one band earned the interest of so many so quickly. And the last band to irritate a state to such a degree were the members of the The Plastic People of the Universe who in the seventies suffered arrests, convictions and even deportation at the hands of the communist Czechoslovakian government. But in a pre-Internet age, that band’s efforts was largely muted to the west by an insularizing Iron Curtain. –Even if inside the country these injustices would inspire Václav Havel and other Czech intellectuals to further resist and change the system.

Certainly, many artists work under despotic conditions, but unfortunately most lack the perfect combination of creative strategies, social networks and political motivations to achieve global recognition for themselves or their cause. Thus, they continue to struggle in near or complete anonymity.

What makes Pussy Riot different, on the other hand, is that whether through politics or poetics, the group seems to offer something that everyone can relate to on a personal level.

And that's why Pussy Riot inspires and fascinates; all of us can identify some aspect of their art or purpose to relate or react to, whether we admire their tactics as performers or debate their efficacy as change agents.

And that’s why Pussy Riot strikes some as the only band that matters today.

And that's why Pussy Riot, with their riotous, rebellious punk prayer, 'Mother of God, Drive Putin Out', is the 2012 Critical Noise Sound of the Year.

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HOW THE SOUND OF THE YEAR IS SELECTED:

The Critical Noise Sound of the Year goes to that sound source, event, entity, happening or concept which so effectively produces wide response and reaction, whether intentional or not, such that it stirs collective emotion, inspires discussion, incites action, or otherwise lends itself to cultural analysis and resonates across the globe.

Prior Sound of the Year winners include The Cry for Freedom (2011), The Vuvuzela (2010) and Auto-Tune (2009) 

Iggy Pop @ The Continental

The rumors are everywhere. By the time you read this, maybe CBGB's is a faint memory of days gone by. Maybe it's a chain with a 'destination' store in Las Vegas. Ever since punk blossomed out of the scene birthed by Television, The Ramones, Talking Heads and Blondie, I desperately wanted to play there.

Alas, no band, although I do still consider myself lucky to have played CB's Gallery stage in the basement two or three of times to an adoring empty room.

Well, of course I went there to enjoy the endless parade of black clad bands that did play. Unfortunately I didn't see anyone I could remotely say lived up to Punk's glory days, when, um, actually, punk was kind of melodic, and if you think about it, not entirely quite as minimal or cartoonish as The Ramones were.

Most memorable punk show I saw wasn't even at CB's but at The Continental, another legendary joint a couple blocks away, and probably not long for this world either. In the mid-nineties two friends of mine were playing in Iggy Pop's band – Eric Schermerhorn (Guitar) and Hal Cragin (Bass) – and they had let us in on a 'secret' performance. So, naturally, after wrapping things up at the studio, Chris Fosdick and I went downtown to be part of the scene.

Got there a little early and staked out our claim to two spots in the middle of the club. No seats mind you; we just stood there. By the time the show started, though, not only was the place packed, it was scary overcrowded. Women were standing on the bar, which could have been sexy, but they looked like they were reaching for oxygen rich air that perhaps floated nearer to the ceiling. As for where Chris and I stood, what seemed like great a vantage point before, now gave off a dread like vibe from the knowledge that we were in the inescapable midst of an insufferable death trap.

And then Iggy came out and he fookin' rocked, dude!

Ha!

Word got out; I guess some calls were made by concerned neighbors, and eventually the fire department came 'round and shut the show down, which was the right thing to do, and only added to Iggy's bad boy rep. In fact, it was such a strategic move, that I wouldn't be surprised if it was his manager having a Big Mac next door who placed the 911 call. Hell, I know the people sitting in Mickey D's saw the walls buckles as soon as Iggy hit the stage. The sound sucked of course. It was just one big roar punctuated by intermittent preening.

I think downtown hipsters will agree, something cool about it, tho'.


CBGB's, Iggy Pop