Egon Schiele: Dangerous Daddy of Punk Rock

The Austrian artist Egon Schiele and the Punk Rock movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s share many similarities in artistic approach and intent. Schiele's provocative, raw, and unapologetic style, characterised by his distorted human forms and bold lines, resonated with the Punk movement's anti-establishment and DIY ethos.

Schiele's use of distorted human forms and bold lines mirrors the Punk movement's rejection of traditional forms and embrace of rebellion and nonconformity. His emphasis on raw emotions, sexuality, and death also resonated with the Punk ethos of shock value and rejection of societal norms. The Punk movement's use of DIY aesthetics, including cut-and-paste graphics and hand-drawn designs, parallels Schiele's use of unconventional materials such as brown paper and his rough, unfinished style.

Punk musicians, including Richard Hell of Television and the Voidoids, have admitted being influenced by Schiele's work, citing his visual and aesthetic impact on their own music and graphics. Indeed, Richard Hell & The Voidoids' 1977 single "Blank Generation" features a cover inspired by Schiele's self-portraits, with Hell's own face distorted and contorted like Schiele's figures. This cover was shown as part of the the 2018 exhibition "Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die: Punk Graphics, 1976-1986" at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, which featured several other works directly inspired by Schiele.

Similarly, John Lydon/Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols has referenced Schiele's influence on that band's aesthetics and shock value in various interviews. Other musicians around the same time have also cited Schiele as an influence. Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees has mentioned Schiele's eroticism as a source of inspiration for her own performances and lyrics, while Ian Curtis of Joy Division included Schiele's self-portraits in a collage he created as part of his art studies.

David Bowie too was a well-known admirer of Schiele's work, and was even cast as Schiele in a film that, sadly, never went into production. The British band Pulp have referenced Schiele's work in their lyrics and album artwork, and singer Jarvis Cocker has cited Schiele as one of his favourite artists. The American singer Fiona Apple has also cited Schiele as an influence on her own music and visual art, noting his emphasis on raw emotions and unconventional materials.

Furthermore, Schiele's impact extends beyond music and into other forms of art and pop culture. The British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was inspired by Schiele's twisted human forms and used them as a reference in his designs. And the American painter Jean-Michel Basquiat also admired Schiele's work and in his signature bold lines and distorted figures we can perhaps see echoes of Schiele's work.

So the links between Egon Schiele and the Punk Rock movement are significant and complex, with both sharing a similar artistic approach and intent. Schiele's provocative and unapologetic style, as well as his emphasis on raw emotions and unconventional materials, directly influenced the Punk movement's rejection of traditional forms and embrace of rebellion and nonconformity. And Punk musicians paid homage to Schiele's impact on their own music and graphics, cementing his influence on the Punk movement's aesthetic and cultural legacy.

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