The Huntington Arts Council is currently inviting local artists to participate in the upcoming exhibit, Bright Colors, Bold Strokes: Creations of Lowbrow Art. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 25 and the exhibit will be on display from March 29 to May 4.
Lowbrow started as an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles area in the late 1970s. It is a populist art movement with its cultural roots in underground comix, punk music, tiki culture, and hot-rod cultures of the street. It is also often known by the name pop-surrealism. It continues its rich history with such publications as Juxtopose, Hi-Fuctose, and Carpazine. Lowbrow art often has a sense of humor — sometimes the humor is gleeful, sometimes impish, and sometimes it is a sarcastic comment.
The Arts Council urges artists to be influenced as many of the creators of lowbrow art are, by acid house flyers, advertising, animated cartoons, circus and sideshow culture, graffiti and street art, kitsch, kustom kulture, mail art, pop culture, psychedelic art, retro illustration, pulp magazine art, adult toys, and vinyl figurines, among other things.
The juror of the exhibit, Benjamin Owens, has worked collaboratively and individually on a variety of interdisciplinary projects. He has been featured in Juxtopose and received numerous awards, including from Mark Ryden, Robert Williams and Jonathan Levine.
Owens is a former gilding specialist for the world famous Sotheby’s auction house. He is an established illustrator who has done work for Zoo York Skateboards, Blue Point Brewery, Mickey Hart and others. He has worked as creative director who designed packaging for many of America’s favorite craft breweries. Owens is currently employed as a vice president of marketing, creating carious advertising.
For more details and instructions, go to https://huntingtonartscouncil.submittable.com/submit/132245/juried-exhibition-bright-colors-bold-strokes-creations-of-lowbrow-art-juror.
