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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.

The majority of lowbrow artworks are paintings, with some sculptures.

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. 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, Todd Schorr, Tim Biskup, Gary Baseman, 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.

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.

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, many artists like Lisa Yuskavage, Barry McGee, Kelly D. Williams, Kenny Scharf, Takashi Murakami, Jim Shaw, John Currin, and Mike Kelley use artistic strategies similar to those employed by lowbrow artists.

In his book Creating A new Civilization, Alvin Toffler (1994) titled a subchapter (page 56) “lowbrows versus highbrows”. He believes that lowbrow is product focused, while highbrow is focused on information. 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 rather be highbrow than lowbrow. The materialization of these ideas often comes in items like prints on clothing, comic books and vinyl action figures that are collectors items. The focus on material possession is typically lowbrow.

Influences/References

Lowbrow artworks are often influenced by, and make reference to, the following sources:

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. * However, Matt Dukes Jordan, author of Weirdo Deluxe, views the terms as interchangeable.

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

New York

Seattle

San Francisco

Astoria, Oregon

Lowbrow books and magazines

There are several books which offer overview histories of lowbrow, including the following:
  • Kirsten Anderson. (2005) Pop Surrealism: The Rise of Underground Art. ISBN 0867196181
  • Matt Dukes Jordan. Chronicle Books, San Francisco (2005) Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow Art. ISBN 081184241X 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 orgins, and its rise to worldwide influence and popularity.

There are also books about lowbrow art that are collections of the work of individual artists; such as Mark Ryden, Robert Williams, Joe Coleman, The Pizz, SHAG (Josh Agle), and Liz McGrath.

A significant lowbrow publication is Robert Williams' Juxtapoz magazine, which functions as a sort of journal of the movement.

Lowbrow collectors

The following celebrities are known for having an interest in lowbrow art.

See also

External links

Art genres

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Lowbrow (art movement)".

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