LOW ART Punk Pt II
High Art vs Low Art. We could slap down definitions, but what’s the point?
You know ‘em when you see ‘em.
The Sistine Chapel. Eric Powell’s The Goon. 2001: A Space Odyssey. SpongBob SquarePants. The Rite of Spring. Blitzkrieg Bop.
Can you sort these? Of course you can.
Venus de Emo. ref Venus de Milo sculpted by Alexandros of Antioch circa 125-150 BC.
The dichotomy between High Art and Low Art has been analyzed, dismissed and re-embraced to death. Movements on either side of the line wax and wane, call and respond, react and overreact in the ever evolving petri dish of human culture. & Yeah. You’re reading an article on LowArtPunk.com. You already know where I’m coming from. Maybe. Let’s get into it…
Within the High Art/Low Art dichotomy lies a salient difference that has become my creative north star. The difference is Access.
The advent of the internet has changed what this word means. Today we enjoy an unprecedented level of access to view and consume. In a pre-internet world, if you lived in New York or had the money to travel, you had access to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Now? It’s anyone with a phone and it’s not just the Met.
In our present age, access is no longer the ability to view.
Access is the ability to enjoy.
Every art scene has its in-crowd. There have always been barriers to admission with respect to culture and subculture. The question is: Who sets the barrier to entry?
Who determines whether or not I get to enjoy the art being created?
For the High Art being made today, this decision lies with the artist.
For Low Art, the decision is made by the fan.
Everyone with a cinephile in their life has experienced this.
“Oh, you’re not familiar with *famous/obscure director’s name dropped here*?? Well, then you can’t even begin to understand what this new film-maker has accomplished.” - Cinephile in your life.
Thing is? They’re right. I’m not gonna get this movie. I can’t because the new film-maker set a High Art barrier to their work. There is nothing inherently wrong with this decision, but the decision was made by the artist & that’s my point.
Ok, Ok. High Art keeps people out, therefore Low Art is for everyone? Not quite…
Take The Misfits, for example.
Crimson Mona ref The Mona Lisa by Leonardo DeVinci and The Crimson Ghost - a character originally appearing in1946 film by the same name, it was first used in The Misfits’ iconography to create a tour poster in 1979.
Nobody’s gonna argue that singles like, Die Die My Darling, Astro Zombies or Devilock are expressions of High Art. Glen Danzig’s synthesis of pulp horror & 1950s doo wop with the sloppy enthusiasm of late-70s east coast punk is art in it’s lowest form. You liked what you heard? You were a Misfits fan. You didn’t like that lyric about chopping heads off little girls? You didn’t have to stay for more.
The barrier to Low Art is set by one simple question: Do I like this?
The answer may be yes. It may be no. But the decision is your own. It is not made for you.
I create within a subculture that cracks, bleeds & oozes. If you don’t like it, it’s totally ok! The stuff I make is not for everybody, but it is accessible to anybody. I’m not writing Silmarillion commentary using Tolkien’s original Dwarvish Runes. (Though maybe I want to? That’s a different blog…) Anyone can pick up my comics, peruse my galleries and read my articles. You might like ‘em, you may not, but it’s for YOU to decide!
My evolving body of work contains:
⚡B-movie horror,
which is not for everyone.
⚡Stoner Humor,
which is not for everyone.
⚡Hard-boiled mysteries
about…beans?
Again, it’s not for everyone, but weirdos like us make shit like this. If you have enjoyed your time here & want to see more, then stay. I have flax-golden tales to spin. ‡
Catch ya next month on the third,
JT⚡
‡“If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a lier,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…
If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!”
Invitation by Shel Silverstein
Where The Sidewalk Ends, 2004 pg 9
