From Subculture to Mass Culture: the Impact of Internet Photography on the New York Club Scene
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FROM SUBCULTURE TO MASS CULTURE: THE IMPACT OF INTERNET PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE NEW YORK CLUB SCENE Lisa Helene Richman A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2008 Committee: Radhika Gajjala, Advisor Jeannie Ludlow ii ABSTRACT Radhika Gajjala, Advisor This study examines a contemporary New York City Club Culture whose history is rooted in the likes of Studio 54 and Andy Warhol’s Factory; it is valued by its members for providing a safe, inclusive space for alternative performance of self and style. Club Culture has always navigated between subculture and mass culture systems. With the introduction of Internet photography to the Scene, the Scene’s sustained future is threatened by capitalism and mass culture commodification. Within this study I contend that while past New York club scenes experienced cultural appropriation of their art and lifestyles through printed media and exclusive art showings, digital photography disseminated through Internet spaces has increased the depth and speed with which mass culture impacts the once exclusive spaces. During fieldwork in the current New York Club Kids’ Club Scene I performed participant observation, interviews with Club Kid girls, and later, archival research of Scene-focused media coverage. Subcultural research suggests that the internal process of meaning making is key to sustaining subcultures. Internet photography impedes this process through the popularization and commodification of the Club Scene (e.g. books, style trends, images) and through the facilitation of external meaning making. A new group of partiers are drawn to the clubs who are externally educated by popular media representations of the Scene. The entrance of the public into the private space of the physical clubs reinforces the mass media’s representation of the Scene with hypersexualized, heternormative female roles. This process undermines and marginalizes the Club Kids within what was once their most private space. iii For the girls and women, past and present, whose lives and works continually enable and inspire such inquiries as this one. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For their time and commitment to furthering this examination I thank my committee, Dr. Radhika Gajjalla and Dr. Jeannie Ludlow. Additionally, I extend my deep gratitude to Dr. Peggy Giordano for her role in helping shape this study during its initial stages. To Dr. Don McQuarie, for providing consistent support of this work and process. My thanks to Dr. Louis Katzner, creator of the Katzner Fund which economically helped to enable the fieldwork portion of the research. To the HSRB staff at BGSU, thank you for your continuous support. To Jennifer Kavetsky for her wizardry in editing, and to everyone who contributed by conversing, dropping off potential resources, or critiquing pieces. I also offer my respect, awe, and gratitude to the girls who participated in this study. They shared their stories with candor and strength (and humor), for this I have no words. To my family and to my sisters, your support is everything I could have asked for; I love you. To my girls, you give me constant strength, super strength; thank you, I love you. Finally, to Nick, you are truly an uncompromising, unwavering, patient, and loving reader and partner. If we ever doubt our fortitude we can look back at this moment and know certainly, we are capable of great triumphs. Gracias para siempre. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE.............................................................................................................................. 1 My Introduction to the Scene..................................................................................... 1 Possible Sociological Approaches ............................................................................. 3 Cultural and Gender Studies ...................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 6 Birth and Perpetuation: Scene History....................................................................... 6 Theoretical Framework.............................................................................................. 13 Privilege ......................................................................................................... 13 Subcultures..................................................................................................... 14 Female Subcultural Voices............................................................................ 16 Theoretical Context........................................................................................ 18 Method ....................................................................................................................... 21 Structure..................................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER I. A NIGHT IN THE SCENE............................................................................ 28 CHAPTER II. THE RISE OF INTERNET SCENE PHOTOGRAPHY .............................. 50 CHAPTER III. SCENE STYLE AND ITS COMMODIFICATION ................................... 71 CHAPTER IV. CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................... 97 WORKS CITED .................................................................................................................... 102 Images........................................................................................................................ 107 Interviews................................................................................................................... 108 Sound Recordings...................................................................................................... 109 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 “The Testament” ..................................................................................................... 52 2 “Smiley: This was taken at the Bust Party on those couches in the VIP area on the night we met. Tonight was the screening of Joanna's Angel porn DVD”............................................................................................................... 56 3 “Iris”.......................................................................................................................... 58 4 “Hot Ali”.................................................................................................................. 58 5 “I Fuck’D Bronques” T Shirt.................................................................................. 68 6 “ggl07 fashion bags”............................................................................................... 74 7 “European Converse campaign” .......................................................................... 74 8 BPM........................................................................................................................... 76 9 “Dior Homme Paris Show” ................................................................................... 85 10 “Hedi Slimane at MisShapes” ............................................................................... 85 11 “Eastsport: MisShapes”.......................................................................................... 86 12 “ONE Campaign: MisShapes” .............................................................................. 86 1 PREFACE My knowledge of subculture at the beginning of this study was one of peripheral personal interaction and academic interest. My seventeen year old sister, she is a skanker who spends every free moment, apart from marching band and the expected duties tied to high school, in Philadelphia clubs “skanking” (a skip/hop dance) to ska music. In addition to my familial relation to such a devoted skanker, my previous academic research involved my production of a photojournalism exhibit that included the stories and portraits of adolescent girls who were classified by social systems as “at risk.” The project revealed that it is not uncommon for girls’ most intense “truths” to be brushed off as “teenaged angst,” and often the stories of American girls are silenced not because they are un-important but rather because the spaces to tell their stories in are scarce. Given the authority to speak, the stories and roles of girls proved vital, vibrant and chilling when made available for the community, their parents, and peers to witness. From my personal interaction with my sister, my work with the “at risk” girls, and my academic studies, I knew girls were active in subcultures and how underrepresented they are in sub-cultural studies. Further, it became extremely clear how consistently marginalized and undervalued their stories are within their own communities. My success working with this understudied population drives me to work with more girls and document their stories. My Introduction to the Scene I was introduced to the Lower Manhattan Club Scene in December 2005. During my first night visiting an old friend, she asked if I wanted to go to a huge party. Her invitation came with the warning that she was not sure if it was “my scene.” She told me that it might be a little wilder than what I was used to in Philadelphia and Ohio and I should be prepared for 2 nudity…”but really, it’s great!” I wanted to have a quiet evening out eating sushi