photograph provided courtesy of Ron Sherman
On January 5th, 1978, the English band Sex Pistols played their first concert in the United States at Atlanta’s Great Southeast Music Hall. Punk music had officially arrived in America. Mainstream media coverage in Atlanta and the world generally characterized the band and their fans as immature teenagers, dangerous hooligans, and poor musicians. Despite the derision, punk scenes would emerge across the world in the following years, including communities in Atlanta and the American South.
This exhibit features various perspectives on punk in the Southeast. The photographs displayed are the work of Ron Sherman, a photographer based out of Atlanta who covered the 1978 Sex Pistols show for Newsweek. Articles from contemporary newspapers and entertainment magazines provide a mainstream narrative that questioned the value of punk music. Selections from local punk zines from the early 80s highlight an opposing perspective as punk music and punk culture continued to evolve.
This exhibit would not have been possible without the support of Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. Randy Gue, Assistant Director of Collection Development & Curator of Political, Cultural, & Social Movements at the Rose Library, previously curated an exhibition of these photographs, entitled Sex Pistols, Atlanta, 1978 at the Different Trains Gallery in Decatur, GA in 2023. The Rose Library’s Atlanta punk periodicals collection was the source of the zines reproduced in this exhibition.
Oxford College Library Exhibit Team
Kerry Bowden, Coordinator of Archives and Special Collections
Paige Crowl, Head of Teaching
Tasha Dobbin-Bennett, Associate Professor of Art History
Jacob Lackner, Teaching and Learning Librarian
Ellen Neufeld, Director of the Oxford College Library
Jessica Robinson, Director of Library Finance and Operations