Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Master's Theses Graduate School 2013 Lowbrow art : the unlikely defender of art history's tradition Joseph R. Givens Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Givens, Joseph R., "Lowbrow art : the unlikely defender of art history's tradition" (2013). LSU Master's Theses. 654. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/654 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Master's Theses by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LOWBROW ART: THE UNLIKELY DEFENDER OF ART HISTORY’S TRADITION A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in The School of Art by Joseph R. Givens M.S., Arkansas State University, 2005 May 2013 I dedicate this work to my late twin brother Joshua Givens. Our shared love of comics, creative endeavors, and mischievous hijinks certainly influenced my love of Lowbrow Art. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Professor Darius Spieth. Without his open mind and intellectual guidance, a thesis on this marginalized movement would not have been possible. I want to express my gratitude to Robert and Suzanne Williams who have patiently answered all of my inquiries without hesitation. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... III ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. VI INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1. A TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO CONTEMPORARY METHODS ............... 7 1.1 The Problem of Terminology................................................................................................ 7 1.2 The Journalistic Method of Giorgio Vasari .......................................................................... 8 1.3 The Analytic Approach of Johann Winckelmann ............................................................... 10 1.4 Immanuel Kant and the Origins of Critical Analysis.......................................................... 13 1.5 E. H. Gombrich’s Functional Approach to Style Analysis ................................................. 15 1.5.1 Challenging Metaphysical Assumptions with Empirical Falsification ........................ 16 1.5.2 Schema: A Functionalist Model for Style Morphology ............................................... 17 1.6 Thomas Munro’s Empirical Methodology for Stylistic Analysis ....................................... 22 CHAPTER 2. TOWARDS A PROPER DEFINITION OF LOWBROW ART ........................... 26 2.1 Identifying the Lowbrow Art Canon: A Quantitative Approach ........................................ 27 2.2 A Stylistic Analysis of Lowbrow Art ................................................................................. 29 2.2.1 Figurative Art Executed in Traditional Media ............................................................. 29 2.2.2 Art that Exploits the Aesthetic Conventions of “Low Arts”........................................ 30 2.2.3 Art that Affects the Viewer with a Narrative ............................................................... 39 2.3 Lowbrow Art Defined ......................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER 3. THE ORIGINS OF LOWBROW ART ................................................................. 43 3.1 Robert Williams: The Patriarch of the Lowbrow Art Movement ....................................... 47 3.1.1 The Earliest Inspiration of Comics .............................................................................. 48 3.1.2 Creative Collaborations of “Kustom Kulture” ............................................................. 52 3.1.3 Williams’s Style Matures in the California Counter Culture of the 1960s .................. 55 3.1.4 Lowbrow Art Grows from an Individual Style to an Art Movement .......................... 58 CHAPTER 4. THE CURRENT CRISIS OF LOWBROW ART ................................................. 65 4.1. Mark Ryden and the Influx of Institutional Ideologies of Contemporary Art ............... 65 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 72 iv LIST OF REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 76 APPENDIX: INDEX OF ARTWORKS FEATURED IN JUXTAPOZ 1994-2002 .....................81 VITA ............................................................................................................................................180 v ABSTRACT This thesis has as twofold purpose. First, it will show that Lowbrow Art fits into the framework of art history and is worthy of art history’s attention. Second, it will argue for a revalidation of “traditional” art historical methods by proving that the methods are applicable to a marginalized contemporary art movement. Lowbrow Art is one of the most distinctive and vibrant art movements in the world, but there has yet to be a thorough examination of this style. Despite the undeniable worldwide success of the Lowbrow Art movement, it remains relatively obscure in academic discourse. Perhaps one reason why art historians have yet to investigate the Lowbrow Art style is that, for decades, the field of art history has steadily been shifting attention away from matters of style. There is a lack of discourse about Lowbrow Art and other contemporary art movements. Therefore, “traditional” methods of art history were considered in order to develop a formal definition of Lowbrow Art. The methods concluded that Lowbrow Art is figurative art executed in traditional media that exploits the aesthetic conventions of popular visual culture in order to engage the viewer with a narrative or implied narrative. The proper definition of Lowbrow Art formed the framework for a historical analysis of the movement. vi INTRODUCTION Lowbrow Art is one of the most distinctive and vibrant art movements in the world, but there has yet to be a thorough examination of this style. The primary publication of Lowbrow Art, Juxtapoz, is in the nineteenth year of publication. It is one of the most widely distributed art periodicals in the world and often outsells staple publications such as Artforum, Art Bulletin, and Art in America.1 Following the success of Juxtapoz, other art periodicals featuring the Lowbrow Art style have been published around the globe, including High Fructose Magazine in the United States, Hey! Magazine in France, DPI in Taiwan, Umbigo in Portugal, Raw Vision in the United Kingdom, Bang Art in Italy, and the recently discontinued Japanese magazine Tokion. The commercial success of Lowbrow Art extends beyond magazines. Paintings by Robert Williams, Mark Ryden, and other prominent Lowbrow Artists now trade at “blue chip” prices. The Lowbrow Art style is a thriving market with dedicated galleries sprinkled across the globe, and La Luz De Jesus, Copro Gallery, and other mainstays of Lowbrow Art have maintained long- term success in challenging markets.2 Lowbrow Art continues to thrive as an underground art movement, but mainstream institutions have begun to take notice of its popularity. Tony Shafrazi, Jeffrey Deitch, Earl McGrath and other premiere art dealers now represent Lowbrow artists. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Foundation Cartier in Paris and other “highbrow” institutions have organized shows featuring Lowbrow Art.3 In 2010, at one of the largest and most respected art fairs in the world, Miami Art Basel, no other booth generated as 1 Robert Williams and Greg Escalante claim that Juxtapoz is the largest selling art periodical. Distribution data is closely guarded by advertisers and magazine owners, so it is difficult to make a definitive confirmation of this claim. However, the distribution of Juxtapoz is competitive with all other art periodicals. Gale Research, “Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media,” (Detroit: Gale Research, 2011). 2 Billy Shire’s La Luz De Jesus has been selling Lowbrow Artworks for over twenty-five years, and Copro Gallery has been selling Lowbrow Art and prints for over twenty-one years. 3 John Strausbaugh, “Street Art That’s Finding a New Address,” The New York Times, March 7, 2010. 1 much internet attention as Shafrazi’s exhibit featuring the work of Lowbrow Art founder Robert Williams. Covered with wallpaper designed by Williams himself and featuring sculptures eight feet in height, the booth was the star of the show. Williams is one of the key figures of American art. The Lowbrow Artists are underground in spirit, but the international popularity of this style is proof that it is a movement that can no longer be ignored by academia. This thesis is the first examination of the Lowbrow Art style using traditional methodologies of art history. Despite the undeniable worldwide success of