What, me Worry? A new age for art
What is art? What a boring question.
How about, what happened to art? Where the hell did it go? When you think of your favourite artist, or piece of work, do you find that you can't think of anything worthwhile that has emerged in the last fifty years (with the exception of Andy Warhol?) Do you feel as though art has been reserved for the stuffy upper class elitists? Does so-called “contemporary art” remind you of something you once painted as a child? Sometimes it might seem as though you're on the outside of some sort of inside joke, that you're just not educated?
Well it's time to bring art back to the masses….no, wait, I mean forget the masses! Let them have Britney Spears and Fifty Spent.
Art has been redefined; it's there for you and me. You know who you are. You just have to look a little harder, as those who will hang this new art on the walls of the worlds great museums, have to wait for permission to like it first.
I'm speaking of course of the underground art movements collectively referred to ironically as “Lowbrow” or “Pop Surrealism.” In order to fully appreciate anything that's happening today you must lose your inhibitions. Forget what you've been taught about the world of fine art. Some of these artists like Robert Williams have been creating art under this title for thirty years.
If they're so brilliant, why haven't I heard of them, you ask? Well that's mainly because you spend your life being distracted by Much Music and cheap beer.
However, there are other factors at play here.
Matt Dukes Jordan, the author of the book, “Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow art,” has this to say on the subject.
“Eventually some of these artists seek admission to the great cathedrals of culture, only to discover that the high priests hesitate to show their work in the sanctum sanctorums where the art of Praxiteles, Picasso, Michelangelo is displayed. Instead of being Fine Art favourites, they have the love of a people that enjoy art that is wilder, funnier, and less elitist than what is found in most Highbrow art museums.”
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.
The term "lowbrow" has been used as well to identify the sources of inspiration for the art.
So where does it come from? It is widely accepted that Lowbrow has its roots as far back as the dadaists, and the surrealists in the early 20th century. These art movements influenced underground illustrators such as Robert Crumb, and the irereverent artists that created Mad Magazine's satirical saga.
Of course, in the seventies came Punk Rock. This movement would leave an impression on many young artists who were coming into theiir own during this time period. The ‘fuck you' attitude of Punk, would carry over into their artwork.
Many of the leading artists of the Lowbrow movement would go on to create underground comic books, or utilize the medium of spraypaint to create publc works of art denounced as graffiti. When all of this was combined, the most ecclectic, loosely joined art movement of the twentieth century emerged. They redefined what it meant to be an artist. Why couldn't a graphic novel hang side-by-side with a Picasso in the museums of Modern Art? The British graffiti artist Banksy summed it up best when he entered the Louvre museum in Paris, and hung one of his own subversive guerilla artworks on the wall.
So come all ye outcasts, geeks and freaks. Let your gut hang free, turn your mental pockets inside out and liberate your thoughts. Step through the looking glass, and take a stroll through the twisted reflection of your childhood. And if you don't come out with a revitalized perspective on modern art, well don't worry about it, there's a case of Lucky Lager at home with your name on it, and the Maple Leaves have scored two touch downs against the buffalo meat heads and are winning six love. Oh, and if your lucky, you might see a boob at half time.
www.markryden.com
www.ronenglish.com
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
How about, what happened to art? Where the hell did it go? When you think of your favourite artist, or piece of work, do you find that you can't think of anything worthwhile that has emerged in the last fifty years (with the exception of Andy Warhol?) Do you feel as though art has been reserved for the stuffy upper class elitists? Does so-called “contemporary art” remind you of something you once painted as a child? Sometimes it might seem as though you're on the outside of some sort of inside joke, that you're just not educated?
Well it's time to bring art back to the masses….no, wait, I mean forget the masses! Let them have Britney Spears and Fifty Spent.
Art has been redefined; it's there for you and me. You know who you are. You just have to look a little harder, as those who will hang this new art on the walls of the worlds great museums, have to wait for permission to like it first.
I'm speaking of course of the underground art movements collectively referred to ironically as “Lowbrow” or “Pop Surrealism.” In order to fully appreciate anything that's happening today you must lose your inhibitions. Forget what you've been taught about the world of fine art. Some of these artists like Robert Williams have been creating art under this title for thirty years.
If they're so brilliant, why haven't I heard of them, you ask? Well that's mainly because you spend your life being distracted by Much Music and cheap beer.
However, there are other factors at play here.
Matt Dukes Jordan, the author of the book, “Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow art,” has this to say on the subject.
“Eventually some of these artists seek admission to the great cathedrals of culture, only to discover that the high priests hesitate to show their work in the sanctum sanctorums where the art of Praxiteles, Picasso, Michelangelo is displayed. Instead of being Fine Art favourites, they have the love of a people that enjoy art that is wilder, funnier, and less elitist than what is found in most Highbrow art museums.”
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.
The term "lowbrow" has been used as well to identify the sources of inspiration for the art.
So where does it come from? It is widely accepted that Lowbrow has its roots as far back as the dadaists, and the surrealists in the early 20th century. These art movements influenced underground illustrators such as Robert Crumb, and the irereverent artists that created Mad Magazine's satirical saga.
Of course, in the seventies came Punk Rock. This movement would leave an impression on many young artists who were coming into theiir own during this time period. The ‘fuck you' attitude of Punk, would carry over into their artwork.
Many of the leading artists of the Lowbrow movement would go on to create underground comic books, or utilize the medium of spraypaint to create publc works of art denounced as graffiti. When all of this was combined, the most ecclectic, loosely joined art movement of the twentieth century emerged. They redefined what it meant to be an artist. Why couldn't a graphic novel hang side-by-side with a Picasso in the museums of Modern Art? The British graffiti artist Banksy summed it up best when he entered the Louvre museum in Paris, and hung one of his own subversive guerilla artworks on the wall.
So come all ye outcasts, geeks and freaks. Let your gut hang free, turn your mental pockets inside out and liberate your thoughts. Step through the looking glass, and take a stroll through the twisted reflection of your childhood. And if you don't come out with a revitalized perspective on modern art, well don't worry about it, there's a case of Lucky Lager at home with your name on it, and the Maple Leaves have scored two touch downs against the buffalo meat heads and are winning six love. Oh, and if your lucky, you might see a boob at half time.
www.markryden.com
www.ronenglish.com
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
