Critical Legal Conference 2013

Queens University, Belfast - Northern Ireland

Artistic and cultural praxes in the transitional and contested territory of urban public space

THE APPROPRIATED METROPOLIS:

perceptions of urban public space through So Paulos punk music.
Author: Dbora Gomes dos Santos

Affiliation: Architect and Urban Planner, master student at Institute of Architecture and Urbanism,
University of So Paulo, Brazil (IAU-USP). E-mail address: deborags@gmail.com

Abstract
Investigating urban dynamics through cultural and artistic expressions has been a wellestablished practice within the field of urban studies. Although the focus on visual arts is still
privileged, musics relevance as a valid source for the analyses of environmental issues has
been increasingly recognized, due to its outstanding pervasiveness on society. Accordingly,
this paper aims to explore the potentiality of Brazilian punk-rock music in highlighting the
struggles of So Paulos early 80s urban development. If in general punk was an inevitable
product of a decadent system, this condition was particularly prominent in Brazilian
movement since its emergence took place amidst a totalitarian and dictatorial period of
Brazils political history. Analyzing the work of two major bands of this scene, Inocentes and
Clera, some key elements that structure punk discourse stand out: first of all, the
manifestation of discontent over the lack of overall freedom and social justice and, second of
all, the pursuit of those very rights Fight for existence/ of justice and freedom
(Humanidade, Clera). Descriptions of the city appear simultaneously mixed and confused
among these demands, thus building a specific urban imaginary. For instance, punk narrative
exposes a cynical and chaotic city; a precise portrayal of the systems coercive forces: Lost
in this labyrinth of concrete buildings Steel doors are closed in my face (Cidade Chumbo,
Inocentes). Despite of that, the city does not appear by means of a space to be denied, but
rather to be appropriated and transformed from within its own reality At night while the city
sleeps/ Dark angels leave their holes/ and dominate the streets (No Acordem a Cidade,
Inocentes). Such sight over the city anticipated issues currently at the core of urban
agendas, namely practices of urban renewal, therefore stressing music as a legitimate
source for problematizing the urban space contested territory.