Crazy for Cult III @ G1988 LA (7/16/09)

Here's some more images.




Ayami Kawashima's Edward Scissorhands and Donnie Darko. Colors kinda remind me of Audrey.

I think it's charming that maturing artists impersonate the work of the folks whose work they absorb and/or admire. I don't think it's charming to see those artists highlighted by galleries inside the same realm that the artists whose works are being imitated. It boggles me anymore what gets hyped, and what gets sold - but, beauty is in the eye of the person writing the check.

I would add C: we collectors should educate ourselves, so we understand what we're looking at. Not only should we try to be familiar with the history of this art movement and its prominent artists, but we should strive to understand the historical underpinnings from which it sprung. If we are familiar with how, what and why artists painted in the past, we will have better judgment when looking at a piece of contemporary art that we are considering adding to our collection.

Of course no one can know all of this when they first begin collecting, but there is no excuse for promoting amateur, derivative work once one is more aware of what's going on. There are plenty of highly skilled visionary artists to go around... let the young artists who haven't found their voice yet keep learning and experimenting until they find something original to say. Including them in the pantheon of artists encompassed by this movement weakens the argument that this work should be taken seriously – and we want it to be taken seriously someday, believe me.

If we as collectors decline to purchase derivative work, the galleries will stop showing it. The fact that galleries are showing it just points to our having fallen down in that area.

These are the types of quality posts that really make forums such as this one such a great place. I know I'm guilty of it as well, but I'd love to see more types of discussion across the board. It seems like oftentimes the large posts only come out in response to bad artwork, but I'd be equally interested to read some more quality posts on the good as well as the bad. Too often a how shall we say "strongly influenced" piece will result in countless diatribes, but a superb piece will merely elicit "that's awesome!" which while positive doesn't really inspire a whole lot of discussion about the merits of said work.

Good point and this speaks to Comnandax's comment about educating ourselves and each other about the art. The more we discuss why we like what we do and why the work is 'good', the better we will understand the work, in which context to view the work, etc.

While I agree with a lot of what's been written here, you have to look at the flip side/big picture as well. This is a free market economy and like it or not audrey kawasaki's art is WAY WAY outside the price range of the vast majority of art buyers. Therefore it is inevitable that someone will copy her style and sell it at a vastly reduced cost. Whether or not places like G1988 are were this should be taking place is debatable but I assume they're in the business of making money as well and obviously have a clientele that desires art of this type so it's not really surprising to me.

That is very true, the artist should be going for a unique style. But when a gallery/curator shows work from artists that are basically cloning their style off of another, the shows and sales justifies that what they are doing is ok. Almost like being rewarded for what they are doing.

okay, . . .I'll bite
Is it a "chicken or the egg" thing
or are people arriving at this particular art scene unaware of what has come before?
I am curious how artists being accused of copying specific qualities inherent in another artist's work, . . .that characterizes a style, . . .feel about this conversation. What is the intent ? what are they trying to say?
We should ask that of all artists. Is all that posturing art or laziness?
What about craft? Can some of these so-called artists learn how to draw a hand or an arm correctly without hurting my anatomy-sensitive eyes!!!?

I am in contact with most of the artists in this scene, . . .and we talk about this all the time.
I am not going to make another artist look bad by saying who is copying who, but I have often been tempted. Can't lie about that.
Bottom line, it makes us all look bad.
I want this thing of ours to progress to something significant, . . .allowing copy-artists to cash in on others' success only weakens the character of this little world of ours.

That's Ana Bagayan's Silence Of The Lambs piece.

If that's not Ana, then let another discussion begin, but pretty positive that has to be her brush work.

that can only be ana.

i think it's testimony to the quality of artists like ana bagayan that we can instantly identify her work, as andrew says, through the recognition of her brush work.
i recall we had a similar debate about the quality of work in the 8 bit show thread a while back.

by the way - i must make clear that i am not bashing this show, but purely responding to comments about deriviative work that has originated in this thread.

i strongly advocate quality in the curation of group shows.

so much seems to slip through the net and end up in a gallery, when it is sub-standard, deriviative work. as has been said here by others, this can only harm the scene that we all love so much.
i feel that i cannot support deriviative work. i want an artist to give me their all - heart, soul and emotion on the canvas - but that heart, soul and emotion has to be theirs - not someone elses.

i live and breathe art, and put all of my expendable income into this scene, along with a lot of time and energy. i travel all over the place to go and see the work. all i ask in return is originality, integrity and quality.

it's good to see that some of the artists who contribute to this board, and this thread in particular - and i'm talking you, mr louie, you, mr zar - have both opinion and original artistic output that aligns with the feelings of the majority of collectors on this board.
i applaud you two for speaking out....

keep the work fresh and original, and the collectors will buy.
lets not let this scene stagnate.

too many times i see work that looks a little too like audrey's, or jeff soto's, or joe sorren's. it's a damn shame that this work gets mixed up with the fresh stuff and murks up the very small pond that we all drink from.

it saddend me recently that one of the most instantly identifiable artists we have in this scene - josh keyes - is even being aped now in terms of his aesthetic....

collectors, curators, galleries and artists alike - we have a joint responsibility to make this scene a memorable one, and to make it grow outwards and upwards - not back in on itself.

no. the point i was going for here was not about elitism or pricing at all, but originality in the work produced by artists in this ever growing scene.
it is true that some of the better known names in this scene are at a point where their original work is not affordable to everyone - take josh keyes or jeff soto again for example.... both artists produce highly original works - instantly identifyable when you see their imagery. true, their original works are priced at the high end of artists within this scene, but the way they edition work in the guise of prints keeps their work accessible to collectors of all financial circumstances. pretty much anyone can afford to drop a couple of hundred on a print to be able to put something from one of these guys on their wall.

at the other end of the spectrum, newer emerging artists are discussed passionately on this board too. you can pick up a great piece of original work - most importantly though - with original content. i'm a big supporter of emerging artists, and like to try and buy work from artists on their way upwards. as i said before though - i like to collect originally themed work, not just another audrey kawasaki knock off. if the work is fresh and the content grabs me, then i'm interested as a buyer. if its derivative, or copy-cat - i'm not interested.

accessibility is what makes this scene great, not just in the way that the artists make work available for differently walletted fans, but also the way in which we as collectors get to chat with the artists we admire on boards such as this, at their shows, book signings etc. the whole thing reminds me of the punk scene of the late 80's and early 90's... everyone in the scene plays a part to make it what it is. playing in a band / making art. promoting shows / running a gallery. making a zine / doing a blog or magazine. paying at the door / buying the art..... there are so many parallels for me, and i'm showing my age now!

well said amanda. i think we are coming from the same direction on this...