Lowbrow (art movement)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lowbrow or lowbrow art is probably the most widely used name describing an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles, California, area in the late 1970s. Lowbrow is a widespread populist art movement with origins in the underground comix world, punk music, hot-rod street culture and other California subcultures. It is also often known by the name pop surrealism.
The majority of lowbrow artworks are paintings, with some toys, and sculptures.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first artists to create what came to be known as lowbrow art were also underground cartoonists: Robert Williams and Gary Panter. Early shows were in alternative galleries in Los Angeles such as La Luz de Jesus run by Billy Shire. The movement has steadily grown since its beginning, with hundreds of artists working in this style, moving it in various directions. The creation of the lowbrow magazine Juxtapoz by Robert Williams in 1994 gave the movement a large boost, bringing it to the attention of people across the world.
Mark Ryden, Marion Peck, Todd Schorr, Elizabeth McGrath, Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman, Gary Taxali, Anthony Ausgang, and Camille Rose Garcia are some of the more well-known artists currently working in this style. Lowbrow continues to grow in popularity - the movement has more web sites, galleries and fans devoted to it than ever before.
[edit] Origin of the term "lowbrow"
In an article in the February 2006 issue of his magazine Juxtapoz, Robert Williams took credit for originating the term "lowbrow art". He stated that, in 1979, Gilbert Shelton of the publisher Rip-Off Press decided to produce a book featuring Willams' paintings. Williams said that he decided to give the book the self-deprecating title, "The Lowbrow Art of Robt. Williams", since no authorized art institution would recognize his type of art. "Lowbrow" was thus used by Williams in opposition to highbrow. He said the name then stuck, even though he feels that it is inappropriate.
[edit] Lowbrow vs. "fine" art
The term "lowbrow" has been used to identify the sources of inspiration for the art and as a way of asserting that lowbrow art is, in part, a critique of highbrow culture. Some museums, art critics, galleries, etc., have been uncertain as to the official status of lowbrow in relation to the fine art world. Some doubt that it's a "legitimate" art movement. This may be because many lowbrow artists began their careers in fields not normally considered fine art, such as illustration, tattooing and comic books, and/or do not have a university degree in fine art.
However, a number of artists who started their careers by showing in lowbrow galleries have gone on to show their work primarily in mainstream "fine" art galleries. Robert Williams, Manuel Ocampo, Georganne Deen, and the Clayton Brothers are examples. Indeed, in the past 85 years, beginning with the work of the Dadaists and the leading proponents of the American Regionalism movement, artists like Marcel Duchamp and Thomas Hart Benton have questioned the distinctions between high and low art, fine art and folk art, and popular culture and high-art culture. In some sense lowbrow art is about exploring and critiquing those distinctions, and it thus shares similarities with pop art. For some, the label "lowbrow" is misunderstood to mean that the work itself is lowbrow, when in fact this term has always been used ironically to comment on the ongoing struggle by many lowbrow artists to 'subvert' elitist highbrow art assumptions and values.
Just as the lowbrow artists play in the blurred boundaries between high and low culture, other more "mainstream" artists use artistic strategies similar to those employed by lowbrow artists. Examples include: Lisa Yuskavage, Kelly D. Williams, Kenny Scharf, Takashi Murakami, Jim Shaw, John Currin, Mike Kelley, and the San Francisco-based Mission School, which includes Barry McGee and Margaret Kilgallen.
In his book Creating A new Civilization, Alvin Toffler titled a subchapter “lowbrows versus highbrows”. He believes that lowbrow is product-focused, while highbrow is information-focused. In the case of lowbrow art, there is a contradiction. The artwork itself often carries a message that criticizes industrial society, and therefore the work would be highbrow. However, the materialization of the message often comes in items like prints on clothing, comic books and vinyl action figures. The focus on material possession is typically lowbrow.
[edit] Influences/References
Lowbrow artworks are often influenced by, and make reference to, the following sources:
- Acid house flyers
- Advertising
- Animated cartoons
- Anime
- Circus and Sideshow culture
- Commercial art
- Comic books
- Erotica
- Folk Art
- Graffiti and Street art
- Japanese art and Chinese art
- Kitsch
- Kustom Kulture
- Manga
- Pop culture
- Psychedelic art
- Punk rock culture
- Retro Illustration
- Religious art
- Pulp magazine art
- Science fiction
- Surf culture
- Tattoo art
- Tiki culture
- Toys for adults, notably vinyl figurines
[edit] Lowbrow vs. pop surrealism
Lowbrow is also commonly referred to as pop surrealism. Kirsten Anderson, who edited the book Pop Surrealism, considers lowbrow and pop surrealism to be related but distinct movements. [1] However, Matt Dukes Jordan, author of Weirdo Deluxe, views the terms as interchangeable.
[edit] Lowbrow galleries
Lowbrow art is shown in many galleries around the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Of the over 100 galleries showing lowbrow art in the world, many are dedicated almost entirely to this kind of art. Notable U.S. lowbrow galleries include:
Los Angeles
- the hive gallery
- Copronason Gallery
- L'Imagerie Gallery
- Billy Shire's La Luz de Jesus
- Merry Karnowsky Gallery
New York
- Jonathan LeVine Gallery
- Kustom Kulture Gallery
Seattle
San Francisco
Minneapolis
- OX-OP
Astoria, Oregon
- Lunar Boy Gallery
Davison, Michigan
- Art Cafe of Davison
[edit] Lowbrow books
There are several books which offer overview histories of lowbrow, including the following:
- Kirsten Anderson. (2005) Pop Surrealism: The Rise of Underground Art. ISBN 0-86719-618-1
- Matt Dukes Jordan. (2005) Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow Art. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-4241-X In addition to showing some of the best examples of the work of 23 lowbrow/pop surrealist artists, "Weirdo Deluxe" includes an introduction, an extensive illustrated timeline of 20th-century popular and fine-art culture that has shaped this movement, plus interviews with the artists in which they discuss influences on their art. The detailed timeline includes information about shows and events in Pop Surreal/Lowbrow art, and, when combined with the interviews and the introduction, offers the first comprehensive history of this movement, charting its key moments, its origins, and its rise to worldwide influence and popularity.
- Aaron Rose and Christian Strike. (2004). Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture. ISBN 1-891024-74-4
There are also books focusing on individual lowbrow artists, including Mark Ryden, Robert Williams, Joe Coleman, The Pizz, SHAG (Josh Agle), and Elizabeth McGrath.
[edit] Lowbrow magazines
- Robert Williams' Juxtapoz magazine is a significant lowbrow publication, which functions as a sort of journal of the movement.
- Raw Vision magazine covers outsider art and lowbrow art. It contains full color images and concise articles on non-mainstream artists.
- Hi-Fructose magazine is a recently created publication which focuses on lowbrow art, especially toys.
