Lowbrow, or lowbrow art, is an underground

visual art The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts ...

movement that arose in the

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

area in the late 1960s. It is a populist art movement with its cultural roots in

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

, punk music,

tiki culture Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

, and

hot-rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

cultures of the street. It is also often known by the name pop surrealism. Lowbrow art often has a sense of humor – sometimes the humor is gleeful, impish, or a sarcastic comment. Most lowbrow artworks are

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

s, but there are also

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

digital art Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various names ...

, and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

History

Some of the first artists to create what came to be known as lowbrow art were underground cartoonists like Robert Williams and

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post-Underground comix, underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of ...

. Barry McGee, Margaret Killgalen, Dan "Plasma" Rauch and Camilla Elke were amongst the first to pioneer Lowbrow as a street art, zine, fashion, graffiti, and counter culture movement. The purpose of the lowbrow movement was to take an unorthodox approach to art and to completely defy its "rules". This resulted in pushback from significant individuals and organizations in the art industry. Early shows were in alternative galleries in New York and Los Angeles such as Psychedelic Solutions Gallery in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, New York City which was run by

Jacaeber Kastor Jacaeber Kastor is a writer, artist, gallery-owner and curator of psychedelic art. He is former owner of the successful Psychedelic Solution gallery in New York’s West Village. Biography Early life Kastor grew up in Berkeley, California an ...

La Luz de Jesus La Luz de Jesus Gallery is a commercial art gallery located in Los Angeles, California. It is closely associated with the Lowbrow Art Movement, Kustom Kulture, and pop surrealism. History La Luz de Jesus Gallery was established in 1986 in Lo ...

run by Billy Shire and 01 gallery in Hollywood, run by John Pochna. The movement steadily grew from its beginning, with hundreds of artists adopting this style. As the number of artists grew, so did the number of galleries showing lowbrow. In 1992 Greg Escalante helped orchestrate the first formal gallery exhibition to take lowbrow art seriously; painter Anthony Ausgang's solo show "Looney Virtues” at the Julie Rico Gallery in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. The Bess Cutler Gallery also went on to show important artists and helped expand the kind of art that was classified as lowbrow. The lowbrow magazine ''

Juxtapoz ''Juxtapoz Art & Culture Magazine'' (pronounced ''JUX-tah-pose'') is a magazine created in 1994 by a group of artists and art collectors including Robert Williams, Fausto Vitello, C.R. Stecyk III (a.k.a. Craig Stecyk), Greg Escalante, and Eric ...

'', launched in 1994 by Robert Williams, Greg Escalante, and

Eric Swenson Eric Leon Swenson (August 4, 1946 – June 20, 2011) was an American skateboard designer and magazine publisher. Born in San Francisco, Swenson was the chief skateboard designer for the Independent Truck Company, which he co-founded with skateboar ...

, has been a mainstay of writing on lowbrow art and has helped shape and expand the movement.

Etymology

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 Gilbert Shelton (born May 31, 1940) is an American cartoonist and a key member of the underground comix movement. He is the creator of the iconic underground characters ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'', '' Fat Freddy's Cat'', and ''Wonder W ...

of the publisher

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Corporation, Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and Distribution (business), distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and ''Rip Off Comix'', as well as ...

decided to produce a book featuring Willams' paintings. Williams said 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 Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, "highbrow" is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The term, first recorded in 1875, draws its metonymy from the pseudo ...

". He said the name then stuck, even though he feels it is inappropriate. Williams refers to the movement as "cartoon-tainted abstract surrealism." Lately, Williams has begun referring to his own work as "Conceptual Realism". *

Anthony Ausgang Anthony Ausgang (born Anthony Charles Grant Thompson, May 22, 1959) is an artist and writer born in Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago in 1959 who lives and works in Los Angeles.''Vacation from Reality: The Art of Anthony Ausgang'' () Ausgang ...

Mark Ryden Mark Ryden (born January 20, 1963) is an American painter who is considered to be part of the Lowbrow (or Pop Surrealist) art movement.Ken Johnson"Mark Ryden: ‘The Gay 90s: Old Tyme Art Show" ''The New York Times'', May 6, 2010. Retrieved 2013 ...

* Robert Williams * Corrie Erickson *

Camille Rose Garcia Camille Rose Garcia (born November 18, 1970) is a California-based lowbrow/pop surrealism artist. She produces paintings in a gothic, "creepy" cartoon style. She cites as influences Walt Disney and Philip K. Dick. Early life and education Garc ...

Shag Shag, or Shagged, or Shagger, or Shagging, or Shags may refer to: Animals * Shag or cormorant, a bird family ** European shag, a specific species of the shag or cormorant family ** Great cormorant another species of the family People Pseudonym ...

Todd Schorr Todd Schorr (born January 9, 1954) is an American artist and member of the " Lowbrow" art movement or pop surrealism. Combining a cartoon influenced visual vocabulary with a highly polished technical ability, based on the exacting painting met ...

Greg Simkins Greg "Craola" Simkins (born February 28, 1975) is an American artist. Education and early life Greg Simkins was born in Torrance, California, Torrance, California, slightly south of Los Angeles. His artistic ambitions bloomed at age three with d ...

* Amy Sol *

Kenny Scharf Kenny Scharf (born November 23, 1958) is an American painter known for his participation in New York City's interdisciplinary East Village art scene during the 1980s, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. Scharf's do-it-yourself pract ...

* Ray Caesar *

Esao Andrews Esao Andrews is an American painter, working with oil on wood panels. His work blends Gothic grotesque, erotic and surrealism. Life Andrews was born and grew up in Mesa, Arizona where he attended Red Mountain High School. He designed skateboards ...

Marion Peck Marion Peck (born October 3, 1963 in Manila, the Philippines) is a pop surrealist painter based in the United States. Biography Marion Peck was born on October 3, 1963 in Manila, the Philippines, while her family was on a trip around the world ...

Tara McPherson Tara McPherson (born April 7, 1976, in San Francisco, California) is an American artist based in New York. McPherson creates paintings, murals, poster art, and designer toys, within the New Contemporary Art movement. Biography Tara McPherson s ...

* Sunny Buick *

Peca Peca may refer to: * Peca (mountain) – mountain in Karawank Mountains at the Slovenia–Austria border * Michael Peca – Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League * Peça – unit of value in the slave trade in West ...

Audrey Kawasaki Audrey Kawasaki (born March 31, 1982 in Los Angeles, California"Audrey Kawasaki"
interview ...

* Jason Limón * Victor Castillo * Miss Van * Joe Vaux * Brandi Milne * Lola Gil * Martin Wittfooth * Hannah Yata * Gregory Jacobsen * Naoto Hattori * Dan Quintana * Gregory Hergert * Renee French * Travis Lampe * Mark Rogers * Gary Baseman * Mark Bryan

Books

There are several books which offer overview histories of lowbrow, including the following: * * A collection of

La Luz de Jesus Gallery La Luz de Jesus Gallery is a commercial art gallery located in Los Angeles, California. It is closely associated with the Lowbrow Art Movement, Kustom Kulture, and pop surrealism. History La Luz de Jesus Gallery was established in 1986 in Lo ...

in Hollywood, CA that has carried Lowbrow art for 25 years. * * * *

Magazines

*''

'' *'' PORK (magazine)'' *'' Beautiful/Decay Magazine'' * ''

Tokion ''Tokion'' was a Japanese-based magazine covering art, fashion, music and film first published in Japan in 1996, followed by United States, UK, and Hong Kong editions. The magazine's makers also produced the annual Creativity Now Conference, a wee ...

'' is a magazine with both Japanese and US editions. *''Hi-Fructose'' *Beautiful Bizarre Magazine *Hey Magazine

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * Magliozzi, Ron. "Tim Burton: Exercising the Imagination." ''Tim Burton''. The Museum of Modern Art, 2009, pp. 9-15. * *

External links

Interview with Kirsten Anderson, editor of ''Pop Surrealism''

{{Westernart American art movements American contemporary art Contemporary art movements Art in Greater Los Angeles Underground culture Popular culture 1970s in California 20th century in Los Angeles 1960s in art 1970s in art 1980s in art 1990s in art