Tim Biskup or Shag? - Beyond Tiki

A aquarj Tiki Socialite SF bay area, CA Joined: Apr 02, 2002 Posts: 1125	A aquarj Posted posted on Mon, Jul 25, 2005 5:15 PM I'd say neither one owes anything to each other, and that both practice what's common to many forms of art - taking a variety of influences and developing a personal style that's unique but still shows traces of its lineage. For example, take a look at this (apology for bad scan quality): Is it Shag? No, Ward Kimball, from a Disney short in the 50s. There's a whole host of artists, illustrators, and animators from Vip to Friz Freleng who must have influenced a bunch of the styles we see today. BTW, along those lines, here's a little feature-ette I put together recently on Ryohei Yanagihara, who also had a bright graphic style influenced by his contemporaries in the 50s. About the Jim Flora influence, I have to say I see a lot more of Flora's crazy surreal style in Tim Biskup than in Shag, whose work seems more representational, although stylized. Another thing that both Shag and Tim Biskup also deserve some credit for is how their efforts helped pave the way for a wider range of "lowbrow" artists to reach people who might not otherwise have ever thought of buying art at all. Tim's Burning Brush art auctions provided a great link between artists and Joe Buyer, in a forum that's pretty hard to duplicate in the regular gallery setting. Shag's work itself has been sort of like the "gateway drug" for many art buyers, providing that first spark of interest in original art as something to actually take home, and an awareness of galleries like La Luz that regularly present works from other talented artists too. Dunno if this makes sense, and I'm not saying they're the main factor or only factor in the success of the "lowbrow" art scene, but I think they both deserve some credit. -Randy

I'd say neither one owes anything to each other, and that both practice what's common to many forms of art - taking a variety of influences and developing a personal style that's unique but still shows traces of its lineage.

For example, take a look at this (apology for bad scan quality):

Is it Shag? No, Ward Kimball, from a Disney short in the 50s. There's a whole host of artists, illustrators, and animators from Vip to Friz Freleng who must have influenced a bunch of the styles we see today. BTW, along those lines, here's a little feature-ette I put together recently on Ryohei Yanagihara, who also had a bright graphic style influenced by his contemporaries in the 50s. About the Jim Flora influence, I have to say I see a lot more of Flora's crazy surreal style in Tim Biskup than in Shag, whose work seems more representational, although stylized.

Another thing that both Shag and Tim Biskup also deserve some credit for is how their efforts helped pave the way for a wider range of "lowbrow" artists to reach people who might not otherwise have ever thought of buying art at all. Tim's Burning Brush art auctions provided a great link between artists and Joe Buyer, in a forum that's pretty hard to duplicate in the regular gallery setting. Shag's work itself has been sort of like the "gateway drug" for many art buyers, providing that first spark of interest in original art as something to actually take home, and an awareness of galleries like La Luz that regularly present works from other talented artists too. Dunno if this makes sense, and I'm not saying they're the main factor or only factor in the success of the "lowbrow" art scene, but I think they both deserve some credit.

-Randy

Post #174634 by aquarj on Mon, Jul 25, 2005 5:15 PM