Pat Bag

Mark Vallen 2010
Linocuts on Paper
24.5″ x 15.5″

Here’s what Vallen had to say about this piece:

This is my linoleum block portrait of Pat Morrison (a.k.a. Pat Bag), the enchantingly sinister-looking bass player for The Bags, one of the first and most notorious late 70s punk rock bands in Los Angeles. I carved the linoleum block in early 1979, and unbelievably did not actually print the edition until 2010.

Each print in the limited edition of twelve was hand-pulled by master-printer John Greco at his Josephine Press print shop in Santa Monica, California. Printed on beautiful heavy white paper (acid free) using Dan Smith traditional relief ink; all prints are embossed in the lower right corner with the Josephine Press logo. Adhering to the time-honored practice in traditional printmaking, a final “cancellation print” was made after I cut a large “X” cut through the linoleum block – signifying the edition is closed and no further prints can be published from the block.

At the earliest performances of The Bags, band members wore bags over their heads and each was assured anonymity by taking “Bag” as a last name. Pat left the group in 1980 and began performing under her own name; she eventually ended up joining The Damned, the first U.K. punk band to record a single, an album, and to tour the United States. Their 1977 visit to Los Angeles helped to ignite the L.A. punk scene, and in 1996 Morrison fittingly married The Damned’s lead singer, Dave Vanian.