Last week marked the official release of pop-surrealist artist Mark Ryden’s YHWH figure, which originated from one of his painting, and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to learn more about his roots, and his beautifully twisted art.

Mark Ryden was born in Medford, Oregon on January 20th, 1963. In 1987, Ryden received a BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. In 1994, Ryden premiered his first piece at the formerly Tamara Bane Gallery in Los Angeles, California. He continued to show his works in group shows until 1998, where he had his first solo show, The Meat Show, at the Mendenhall Gallery in Pasadena, California.

On my quest for information, there were a couple of things that intrigued me. I’ll start off with the accessibility for his work. Although I am a fan of his art, I simply don’t have the financial means to purchase an original piece from Ryden—although I am crossing my fingers for the future. With the release of YWHW, I thought I would finally get my hands on something Ryden, but his art is highly sought after and one shouldn’t expect less of his first designer toy. I was giving up on the idea of owning something Ryden—and then, I found out that Ryden created some album covers that I just happen to own. Among the most popular and probably, most recognized covers are; Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ One Hot Minute album. Although these mass produced album covers don’t have the same effect as an original canvas—I am compelled to look at every detail on the covers just to admire Ryden’s work.

One thing I did want to share though is that my reaction to Jackson’s Dangerous album cover was very similar to my reaction of the works I knew to be Ryden’s. I guess Ryden has always had the same effect on my emotions. I couldn’t help but be drawn in by his colors and “fun” characters, but ultimately, there was an eerie, creepy feel to it that made me put the album aside. To date, Ryden’s art fools me with these cute little girls and bears and blue-eyed boys, and then it takes a twisted turn into bubbles blowing out of their vaginas, the little boy on the bicycle is part of the Nazi youth and so on.

His style leads me to my second point of interest which is, what art movement does Ryden belong to? When I was introduced to Ryden’s works over a year ago—it was indicated to me that he was part of the lowbrow movement. Lowbrow, also known as pop-surrealism, refers to “an underground visual art movement” which often contains a sense of humor that’s meant to be; “gleeful, impish and sometimes sarcastic.” Other artists within this movement include; Audrey Kawasaki, Tim Biskup and Gary Taxali. According to an article in LA Weekly, Ryden’s The Tree Show (which happens to contain my favorite collection of works) was his departure from the lowbrow art world, to something more mainstream.

Since I have only recently began familiarizing myself with art history—I wasn’t sure about the implications of this move, but I recognized that it was a critical move in Ryden’s career. Not focusing on labels though, the writer continued to say the following,

“There are numerous artists who enjoy some degree of crossover but few who straddle the divide quite as cleanly as Ryden. Combining the pictorial accessibility of Lowbrow with the weight of art-historical awareness, layering seductive technique over an increasingly mystical conceptual framework, Ryden makes work that plays by both sets of rules, without, impressively, seeming to bow to either.”

I suppose if you’re a Mark Ryden fan, then a label doesn’t hold much weight in determining whether or not you’d purchase a piece, one thing that stays true is that the man is talented. Although it seems he’s been lying low lately, my guess is he’s spending time with his wife and two children, I’m hoping that he’ll consider releasing another vinyl piece for fans like myself to get their hands on.

Reference
Mark Ryden Site: http://www.markryden.com/index.html
Mark's Biography: http://www.markryden.com/biography/index.html
LA Weekly : http://www.laweekly.com/2007-03-22/art-books/shooting-low-aiming-high

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