cowtown + lowbrow = Cowbrow

Oct 8th, 2009 | By katiedl | Category: Artists

Cowtown… Columbus, Ohio, a sprawling metropolis smack dab in the middle of Ohio. It’s a big town with a small town feel and attitude. Home to the Ohio State University, A college football mecca with a rabid fan base, hated by most of the rest of the U.S.A.
Middle America, the # 1 choice for test market trials for corporate foodstuffs and fast food forays to include: McDonalds Pizza, Hot Pockets, Zima, and anything with the name Angus stamped on it.

Lowbrow… Art that emerged in the 70s from west coast car culture, underground comics, tattoo culture, and concert posters. fueled by graffiti on the east coast. Lowbrow has an ever-present sense of humor. It is largely a style that defies description other than thumbing it’s nose at a “high brow” ethic. An ethic that required an explanation or artists statement to understand the artwork. Originally, it shunned big art institutions: museums and university/institutionalized art programs. Lately, it has started to explode.

CowBrow… an homage to the town inhabited by the participating artists. Illustrated in loving fashion by 12 artists, from ages 18 to forty-something, who live in Columbus or have made it their home. Both self-taught and educated in higher learning institutions these artists are influenced by comic books, sci-fi, pop culture, video games, graffiti, and the flavor of the moment. The work straddles both sweet and sour, accessible and in your face.

taken from cowbrow’s facebook page

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