Photographer Steve Martinez was turned on to the LA punk scene he has been capturing for the past twenty years, when he was a kid skating ramps. It's fair to say that his Larry Clark-esque immersion into that scene formulated the aesthetic that
Photographer Steve Martinez was turned on to the LA punk scene he has been capturing for the past twenty years, when he was a kid skating ramps. It's fair to say that his Larry Clark-esque immersion into that scene formulated the aesthetic that shaped his unique documentation of the city's outsiders. His first album cover was produced for Lydia Lunch, whom he has collaborated with ever since. His photography and art have since been published in Rolling Stone, Lowrider, and Playboy, among many others, and his PUNK exhibition, currently showing at Hotel De Ville in The City of Angels, presents a unique journey through subversive culture with unforgettable images of seminal movers and shakers from the west coast underground. Here, he talks to AnOther about keeping it real, collaborating with Lydia Lunch and hanging out with Hunter S. Thompson.
Steve Martinez: The energy and creativity was what turned me on to punk as a kid — everyone was expressing him or herself so differently and there was a real sense of live fast, die young, the time is now. The very first band I shot were The Weirdos and Lydia Lunch was the singer. Lydia has always been such a huge influence on me, she really gave me the opportunity to put my energy and angst into art. I started working for Slash Records aged 16 and it was pretty crazy — we put out The Germs, X, The Gun Club, The Misfits. Now punk has lost its meaning, of course. The only band that comes to mind as punk in recent years is Nirvana. Kurt changed the direction of music just as punk did during the late 1970s. He did his own thing in the same way Lydia always has, and he wasn’t affected by trends. It wasn’t easy being a punk back in the day. There were only three of us in my High School and jocks would all pick fights with us — we were all social outcasts, or as a Los Angeles Police Department officer once told me: “kid you’re a menace to society." The scene was a very small one but we all supported each other — we had to make it happen because nobody was there to help or support us and we had no money, it's a bit like now in that respect. I still have my punk values today... once a punk always a punk. I guess that’s why I hooked up with Hunter S. Thompson. He lived his life and created his own style of writing and lived off the beaten path. I met him through one of his ex-girlfriends and I came up with the idea to re-re-release The Curse Of Lono. It had been out of print for many years but I wanted it to come out as an art book. I approached Benedict Taschen about the idea and both Hunter and Ralph Steadman signed a limited-edition run. It sold out and now is available on paperback. I made his Gonzo Honor Roll, which gave me the biggest lump in my throat. I feel so fortunate to have been around such a genius. Keeping it real is important in art. It's what Lydia has always done, and what I have always strived to do in my work."
Text by John Paul-Pryor
