Running parallel to the anti-war effort during the 1960s and 70s was Pop Art, which, like the Fluxus group, adopted everyday images. However, for Pop artists, these images became art for art’s sake. While Claes Oldenburg, Jasper Johns and Andy Warhol replicated images of consumer culture, rock and roll’s rebellion turned inwards toward the self. Studio 54’s house band, the Velvet Underground, took introspection to its apex, while No Wave bands would perform audienceless in the New York streets as firm proponents of music for music’s sake. Towards the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 80s, self-satirizing disco, new wave and Pop artists began to acquire a large fan base. The Village People topped the charts with songs that band member David Hodo described as, “the worst you have ever heard;” Devo produced a skeletal reproduction of pop culture reference point, the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction,” while Madonna freely admitted that she was a “material girl.” Even ivory-tower electronic music became a public commodity as New Order and Soft Cell produced dance club hits.

THE END OF THE AFFAIR

While self-satirization through frenetic reproduction—as demonstrated by emergent movements at the end of the 1970s like photo-realism—remains a continual theme in the avant-garde art world, rock and roll has lost its sense of humor. The creation of MTV turned rock songs themselves into commercials, and the 1990s have seen the increasing importance of commercial success to rock and roll. At the beginning of the decade, athletes endorsed soft drinks; now that honor goes to Britney Spears. As seen by the reaction of the musical community to the current American war effort, rebellion through popular music is passé—rock and roll now seeks to placate the public that funds it. Meanwhile, conceptual art remains rooted in ideals, but no longer has the public support to effect change. When the self-preoccupation of the art world and music’s commercial drive can reach a compromise, avant-garde art and rock and roll can fall in love again. Until then, the boys abroad have J-Lo’s booty-shaking to enjoy.

–Reporting contributed by Matthew B. Sussman