Hit me with your ism stick.
March 13, 2011 9:03 AM Subscribe
Does this contemporary art movement have a name?
The closest thing could be Murakami's Superflat. You can find lots via google, and there is also an overview on wikipedia.
posted by bwonder2 at 9:45 AM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by bwonder2 at 9:45 AM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
I would argue that it's not really a movement. We're currently in Post-Modernism, and we probably will be for a very long time. That is until somebody finally makes note of something different.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 10:10 AM on March 13, 2011
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 10:10 AM on March 13, 2011
It's interesting. Just tossing out observations off the top of my head: The first link looks inspired by steampunk (and thus, by extension, steampunk's expression in manga and anime), but the second, while also featuring Japanese motifs, looks very vectory—I could see it having been inspired by both Internet art trends toward that simple vector style and the resurgence of hand-crafted woodblock and letterpress printing (esp. since it's on Etsy). On the Japanese angle, there's also some kimono action in this link from above.
The third is Gary Baseman's patented blend of cutesy/creepy...not sure where he takes his inspiration from specifically, but he's highly influential in the print/design/art graphic novel world, and is likely really on top of whatever else is currently out there. He's always had a very distinctive style, but in the pictured exhibit, there's almost a Hello Kitty–meets–Dia de Los Muertos kind of thing going on.
The fourth looks very vector-inspired, especially in the hair—I've been seeing desktop backgrounds for a few years that really focus on the hair, 'cause that cartoonish separation of strands is something Illustrator + drawing tablets do really well. One search term is "vectorized portrait." The one after that looks like it's sort of at the intersection of colorful midcentury pop art and graphic novels—this one really reminds me of Daniel Clowes. So do the last two, for that matter, esp. in their focus on less-than-conventionally-beautiful individuals—though the drawing style looks a lot more like Edward Gorey.
And going back a little in the list above, this one also looks very vector- and Internet art–inspired; see also.
And then there are the bears—there's one visible here and one here. I don't know exactly how the current Internet fascination with bears started, but for some reason it's become a thing—there's been a lot of "news of bears" in pop culture blogs and in band names. There have been a lot of animal band names in general, actually, in the past decade.
So if I had to point to any general themes that run throughout the works linked, there's a lot of childlike, storybook cuteness, juxtaposed with the macabre (makes sense, in a world where many twentysomethings still don't feel "grown up"); a lot of animals (perhaps related to societal concerns about biodiversity loss? or maybe just related to the sudden proliferation of cute animal websites?); a lot of mashups and cultural appropriation and reuse; a lot of inspiration from indie comics, crafts, and music and DIY culture; and changes in artwork production stemming from Internet design trends. All very '00s—and yes, quite postmodern!
posted by limeonaire at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
The third is Gary Baseman's patented blend of cutesy/creepy...not sure where he takes his inspiration from specifically, but he's highly influential in the print/design/art graphic novel world, and is likely really on top of whatever else is currently out there. He's always had a very distinctive style, but in the pictured exhibit, there's almost a Hello Kitty–meets–Dia de Los Muertos kind of thing going on.
The fourth looks very vector-inspired, especially in the hair—I've been seeing desktop backgrounds for a few years that really focus on the hair, 'cause that cartoonish separation of strands is something Illustrator + drawing tablets do really well. One search term is "vectorized portrait." The one after that looks like it's sort of at the intersection of colorful midcentury pop art and graphic novels—this one really reminds me of Daniel Clowes. So do the last two, for that matter, esp. in their focus on less-than-conventionally-beautiful individuals—though the drawing style looks a lot more like Edward Gorey.
And going back a little in the list above, this one also looks very vector- and Internet art–inspired; see also.
And then there are the bears—there's one visible here and one here. I don't know exactly how the current Internet fascination with bears started, but for some reason it's become a thing—there's been a lot of "news of bears" in pop culture blogs and in band names. There have been a lot of animal band names in general, actually, in the past decade.
So if I had to point to any general themes that run throughout the works linked, there's a lot of childlike, storybook cuteness, juxtaposed with the macabre (makes sense, in a world where many twentysomethings still don't feel "grown up"); a lot of animals (perhaps related to societal concerns about biodiversity loss? or maybe just related to the sudden proliferation of cute animal websites?); a lot of mashups and cultural appropriation and reuse; a lot of inspiration from indie comics, crafts, and music and DIY culture; and changes in artwork production stemming from Internet design trends. All very '00s—and yes, quite postmodern!
posted by limeonaire at 10:27 AM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
Oh wow—and I was about to say, a lot of these ideas could sort of be synthesized in a sad, tiny little graphic novel I read a few years back, Jordan Crane's The Last Lonely Saturday—and then I realized one of your links above is actually to his website. So there you go, I guess.
posted by limeonaire at 10:38 AM on March 13, 2011
posted by limeonaire at 10:38 AM on March 13, 2011
It's not superflat
I'd call it contemporary illustration.
posted by fire&wings at 11:28 AM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
I'd call it contemporary illustration.
posted by fire&wings at 11:28 AM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
Juxtapoz Magazine would call it lowbrow, but I've heard people adjective-ize the magazine itself and call that style "Juxtapoz art".
posted by Gortuk at 12:06 PM on March 13, 2011
posted by Gortuk at 12:06 PM on March 13, 2011
For the first few links, I'd honestly call it "the creepy doll stuff Pescovitz and Frauenfelder link to all the time on Boingboing." That would work as a label among my friends.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 12:29 PM on March 13, 2011
posted by Monsieur Caution at 12:29 PM on March 13, 2011
The stuff you posted looks to me like about half Lowbrow and half Deviantart.
posted by milk white peacock at 1:40 PM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by milk white peacock at 1:40 PM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
You linked to a bunch of things, all of which I would categorize as current trends in illustration.
posted by bradbane at 4:45 PM on March 13, 2011
posted by bradbane at 4:45 PM on March 13, 2011
I've read it described as pop surrealism.
posted by instantlunch at 8:23 PM on March 13, 2011
posted by instantlunch at 8:23 PM on March 13, 2011
this gallery includes a lot of that style - it describes the art as being influenced by illustration. You may get some more answers from looking over their website.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:06 PM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:06 PM on March 13, 2011 [2 favorites]
Kitsch? Some of it reminds me of outsider aet, some of it of the Trechtikoff and velvet paintings of the 70s, some of it of Japanese crazes like Liddle Kiddles and Blythe.
posted by mippy at 8:07 AM on March 14, 2011
posted by mippy at 8:07 AM on March 14, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by neushoorn at 9:26 AM on March 13, 2011 [1 favorite]