Description

1981 Pop Surrealism / Lowbrow art drawing in colors (colored pencil or pastel) dated "April 1981" and signed illegibly lower right. Artwork is under glass. Forgive the glare and reflections in my photos. Examined under a 20x jeweler's loupe - guaranteed to be a hand done original and not a print. The drawing is matted and framed 'floated'. Drawing size: 7 5/8 x 10 3/4 inches. Overall size with matting and frame: 15 3/8 x 19 3/8 inches. Not examined out of framing - Original, untouched condition. Wish I didn't have to, but notice I taped a piece of paper on the glass to photograph the artwork for this venue. Otherwise called New Surrealism, this genre of Contemporary Surrealist art ranges from uncanny to grotesque, peculiar, symbolic, visionary and dream-like. Here's a bit of info I found on the net regarding the background, other than the obvious such as Salvador Dali and his influence in the art world, or roots of Contemporary Surrealist art: "Some of the first artists to create what came to be known as lowbrow art were underground cartoonists like Robert Williams and Gary Panter. Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, 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, New York City which was run by Jacaeber Kastor, La Luz de Jesus 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". There are some things I won't talk about in the drawing offered here, but overall, it's a scene with a person sitting on a piano. Since the piano has wheels and a certain carved ornament, it's like retro-futurism, steampunk or neo-Victorianism, I guess (?). The look of the old fashioned boot supports that kind of idea. The figure could be a teacher since there's what looks like an apple also on the piano. Maybe the figure is also an angel. Or, a fallen angel and this is hell on wheels (?). She could be a performer since there's a curtain. The setting might be a desert. I may add a couple metal clips to the back of this before packing and shipping because the glass wants to move around a bit when I tilt the item at angles. Any help on the artist name? I found the item here in the Philly area, if that's any clue.