Pop Surrealism; Scott Musgrove, Todd Schorr, Camille Rose Garcia, Mark Ryden, Alex Gross, Robert Gonsalves

I just discovered some new art that I really like — “Pop Surrealism.” I had randomly come across some of these pieces before, such as Scott Musgrove’s cover illustration for Etgar Keret’s collection The Nimrod Flipout, as well as some stuff that I saw at the La Luz de Jesus gallery, but I hadn’t realized that there was a recognized subculture of this stuff until I found the book Pop Surrealism by Kirsten Anderson. Pop surrealism originated here in Los Angeles and is influenced by a wide range of pop culture art forms such as comics, advertising, tattooing, circus culture, graffiti, and science fiction. Reading about the pop surrealism world actually reminds me a lot of the fantasy & science fiction world — here you have two art forms that are sometimes condescended to in certain stodgy circles despite being manifestly more exciting, relevant, and artistic than most of what passes for “respectable” art & literature. In both worlds you also see a pattern of tech-savvy new artists building huge audiences online and completely bypassing the traditional gatekeepers of culture. (And I mean really, are you seriously going to trust a guy who looks like this to tell you what’s cool?) I also feel some affinity with pop surrealism since I feel like they’re trying to accomplish some of the same things I’ve been trying to do in pieces such as “Transformations” and in some of my newer, yet unpublished work. Here’s a sampling of some pop surrealist art: Clash of Holidays by Todd Schorr. (This piece apparently caused quite a furor with some religious groups when it was first displayed.) Arctic Cavern Hideaway by Camille Rose Garcia (who grew up in the shadow of Disneyland and lists Philip K. Dick as one of her favorite authors). Corkey Ascending to the Heavens by Mark Ryden. Siren by Alex Gross. And finally, here’s one that’s really more just “surrealism” than “pop surrealism,” but I found it while researching this stuff and I like it so I’m going to toss it in here: Autumn Cycling by Robert Gonsalves.