Art and Rock

There was a documentary on ITV last Sunday about Young British Artists (YBAs - Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin etc)  taking on the mantle of rock stars in the 1990s.

Here's a link to it on ITV player:
https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/perspectives/series-1/episode-1-perspectives-gary-kemp-kick-out-the-jams

As you can see it was called "kick out the jams".  I had no idea why.

Kick out the jams is listed in Wikipedia as the debut album of an American "protopunk" band, MC5, released in 1969 and, apparently, has become "a slogan of the 1960s ethos of revolution and liberation, in incitement to kick out restrictions in various forms."  It also has other connotations and was used by David Bowie in the song "Cygnet Committee".

I suppose its use in the title of this TV programme is to capture the revolutionary, punk era which gave birth to the YBAs.

The programme was presented by Gary Kemp, who I'd never heard of.   He was the chief songwriter and guitar player in Spandau Ballet according to his Wikipedia entry.

Anyhow, quite an interesting insight into the YBAs.

It turns out that Damien Hirst did a heck of a lot to get the YBAs established - ran himself ragged organising the Frieze and Sensation exhibitions in warehouses.  Kemp points to the parallels in music - the raves in warehouses.

At one stage, Kemp asked an artist whether Damien Hirst was art's equivalent of Bowie, who's successively and successfully renewed himself.  The response was that Hirst was more like Noel Gallagher, which conjures up a rather unpleasant spent force in my mind.  Seemed telling to me.

Kemp didn't manage to talk to Hirst although he went to Qatar, where Hirst was preparing a giant solo show.