Gregg Deal, Indigenous Punk Rock Artist

Indigenous artist, activist, spoken word performer, and punk rock front man for his band Dead Pioneers, Gregg Deal is impressive. He's a big deal. And, if you're in or around Los Angeles in the next month, you owe to yourself to stop by the Adler Smith Gallery in Santa Monica for the latest installation of Gregg's unique, and uniquely powerful, art exhibit "The Others."

If you've followed this blog or my writing with Westword Magazine in Denver, you know I am a huge fan of Deal and have covered the band Dead Pioneers several times in the past year. And I will continue to follow the band as they work on their third album for Hassle Records, following a strong response to the second LP Post-American and a string of live shows in promotion that included opening for Pearl Jam and touring Europe with punk legends Pennywise and Propagandhi.

But today on Indigenous Peoples Day, I am thinking about Deal's visual art and his series "The Others" which first caught my attention years ago before I met him or the band had formed. The series is a powerful statement about Native American stereotypes, white supremacy, cultural appropriation, and the power of punk rock. In the series, Deal has taken offensive "cowboy and indian" comics from the 1940s and reappropriated them with a reversal that features the Natives winning. Each of the image's speech bubbles features punk rock lyrics that resonated with Gregg from his youth.

In Deal’s own punk way, The Others points to an ongoing struggle for liberation from white settler-colonialism and violence. For The Others series, Deal appropriates individual panels of comic book illustrations from the 1940’s and 1950’s, changing out the dialogue of each speech balloon with lyrics from late 20th century punk rock music—bands such as Dead Kennedys, Misfits, Marginal Man, and Operation Ivy (I’d recommend exploring some of the musical inspiration on your way to, or while viewing the work). Grit is apparent in Deal’s delivery. Stencils, aerosol, and hand-painted words appeal to a non-conformist sensibility, enhancing the overall subversive message.

Take a few moments and listen to Gregg discuss that series at the opening on October 11.
And of course continue to follow his impressive career both as an artist and musician.