R Crumb City of the Future Rat Fink Art
| Robert Williams | |
|---|---|
 Williams in 2007. | |
| Born | Robert L. Williams II (1943-03-02) March 2, 1943 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Los Angeles City Higher, California Plant of the Arts |
| Known for | Painter, cartoonist |
| Notable piece of work | Appetite for Destruction, Zap Comix, Coochy Cooty |
| Movement | Lowbrow art, Feral Art |
| Spouse(due south) | Suzanne |
| Website | robtwilliamsstudio.com |
Robert L. Williams, often styled Robt. Williams (born March 2, 1943), is an American painter, cartoonist, and founder of Juxtapoz Art & Civilization Magazine. Williams was 1 of the group of artists who produced Zap Comix, along with other underground cartoonists, such as Robert Nibble, South. Clay Wilson, and Gilbert Shelton. His mix of California car culture, cinematic apocalypticism, and pic noir helped to create a new genre of psychedelic imagery.[one]
Biography [edit]
Early life and instruction [edit]
Robert L. Williams II was born on March 2, 1943, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Robert Wandell Williams and Betty Jane Spink.[2] At a very early age, he displayed an interest in drawing and in painting with watercolors. He was enrolled in the Stark Military Academy in the first grade; maybe, this led to his collecting High german Pickelhauben later on in life.[ commendation needed ]
Williams was instilled at an early age with a dearest for motorcar culture. His father endemic The Parkmore, a bulldoze-in restaurant, complete with carhops, which was frequented by hot rodders. Williams received his start car at 12 years erstwhile, as a souvenir from his father: a 1934 Ford v-window coupe. References to his childhood surroundings tin can be seen throughout Williams' piece of work, too every bit in the custom hot rods which he would later build himself. He became so adept at painting specular reflection from chromed auto parts that he afterward drew the chrome parts for other comix artists, who then drew the balance of the auto.[ commendation needed ]
The Williams household was unstable, as his parents married each other a full of 4 times. During his early childhood, Williams was shuttled between Albuquerque, New Mexico, and his father'south abode in Montgomery, Alabama. The parents' last separation occurred in 1956, later which 12-yr-erstwhile Robert lived with his mother in Albuquerque. He became a delinquent, immersed in hot rods, hi-jinx, and street gangs; this led to his beingness expelled from public school in the eleventh grade.
To avoid the possibility of a jail term, Williams moved to Los Angeles in 1963, at the historic period of 20. There, he enrolled in art courses at Los Angeles City College, where he contributed artwork to the school'south paper, The Collegiate, and met Suzanne Chorna, his future wife.
Later on that, he briefly attended the California Institute of the Arts (formerly the Chouinard Art Plant), where he was branded an "illustrator" in derogatory manner. Now married, Williams left art school and became a professional creative person in search of work. He worked for Blackness Chugalug mag and designed containers for the Weyerhaeuser Corporation, before he constitute his dream task in 1965, working with Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.
Art and comix career [edit]
In the late 1960s, while doing advertisements and graphics for Roth, Williams was as well a productive oil painter. It was during this catamenia that he created his "Super Cartoon" paintings, which included Ambition for Destruction (which depicts a robotic rapist about to be punished by a metallic avenger) and In the Land of Retinal Delights. These paintings were meticulously created in the style of the old masters, using mitt-made paints and multiple layers of varnish.[2] The "Super Cartoon" works sold well but were very time-consuming to produce, sometimes requiring more than a year.
In 1969 Williams joined the Zap Comix collective of artists with the infamous issue number four of Zap Comix. He flourished within the not-conformist, anti-institution art movement of that time, along with Robert Nibble, S. Dirt Wilson, Gilbert Shelton, Spain Rodriguez, Rick Griffin, and Victor Moscoso. That same year, he created Coochy Cooty, his seminal underground comix antihero. His creation was unleashed in 1970 in Coochy Cooty Men's Comics and in many bug of Zap Comix, and is still alive today in Williams'south oil paintings.[two] 1970 was also the last twelvemonth of Williams employment with Roth studios.
Many of Williams' comix and "Super Cartoon" paintings were included in his offset book, The Lowbrow Fine art of Robt. Williams, which was published in 1982 by Rip Off Printing. The title of the book was meant equally a statement about the highbrow tone of the art world, which was antonymous to Williams's artwork.
In the 1980s, Williams became involved with the punk stone movement and found his next audition. During this period, he published Zombie Mystery Paintings, which influenced and inspired a multitude of artists with its vibrant, sexy, and ultra-violent images. These works were washed quickly, on rough canvas, and were sold via a waiting list due to heavy need. In improver to Williams'southward books, the popularity of his piece of work was established in galleries known for lowbrow art, such every bit Billy Shire's La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 01 Gallery, and the Tamara Bane Gallery.[two]
Visual Addiction was Williams's side by side volume of paintings. The works it independent were more tightly rendered and began to incorporate detailed background elements and vignettes. This book also contained Williams'southward "Rubberneck Manifesto," which stated that "Something dead in the street commands more than measured units of visual investigation than 100 Mona Lisas!"[ citation needed ]
Williams published several more books every bit his work progressed in content, style, and size. His paintings moved from "zombie sex" to quantum mechanics and had sold-out shows on both coasts, generating need for them from around the world. He influenced other artists and gave them a voice through publications such as Art? Alternatives in 1992, and after, Juxtapoz Fine art & Culture Magazine. Williams founded Juxtapoz in 1994; the magazine propelled many new artists to fame and rose to become one of the most-circulated art magazines.
The year 1997 saw the publication of the retrospective Malicious Resplendence and his one-man testify at the Shafrazi Gallery in New York. 2 more Shafrazi shows followed, in 2000 and 2003. These works were published in Through Prehensile Eyes in 2005.
His next one-human being show was in 2009, once more at the Shafrazi Gallery; it was titled "Conceptual Realism: In the Service of the Hypothetical." A catalog of the same championship was published. This exhibition moved to California Land University, Northridge in 2010, where Williams provided a tour of the works,[3] too as a lecture[iv] defining his art motility, Colloquial or Exploratory Realism (Feral Fine art).
In 2010, Williams was busy with his inclusion in the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York and with the release of a characteristic-length documentary motion picture nigh himself. This was titled Robert Williams, Mr. Bitchin and premiered on June 16, 2010, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where it received a continuing ovation.[5] The film was produced past Rhinoceros Films and Foundation Films and documents Williams'southward rise to fame from his car-civilization and underground-comix roots.
On October 9, 2010, Williams was given a lifetime achievement award every bit role of the Beyond Eden Fair in Hollywood.[half-dozen]
In 2011, Williams took role in the Los Angeles Art Fair and delivered some other lecture on his art movement.[7] His work was also included in the "Two Schools of Absurd" show at the Orangish Canton Museum of Art.
Williams has participated with other artists in "The Art Boys," a venture which included such notables as Gary Panter, Matt Groening, The PIZZ, Mike Kelley, Neon Park, and Mark Mothersbaugh.[8] [9] [10]
In 2015, Williams achieved a 51-twelvemonth goal. After attending the 1964 Salvador Dalí exhibition at the Los Angeles Municipal Fine art Gallery, Williams vowed to have his own work displayed in the aforementioned institution.[11] This vision was realized in "Robt. Williams: Slang Aesthetics," which ran from Feb 22 thru Apr 19, 2015, setting the highest recorded omnipresence at over 20,000 visitors.[12] The exhibition included new paintings and sculptures as well as a retrospective of past works, and was accompanied by a catalog of the same proper name as well equally a 20-year ceremony grouping show for Juxtapoz magazine. Thematically, Williams postulates that slang is a valid class of communication: "In fact, slang represents freedom from pretension assuasive artists to part equally they please."[13]
October 2019, Williams released a career-spanning book showcasing all of his paintings, drawings, and sculptures to engagement. "Robert Williams: The Male parent of Exponential Imagination", comprising 484 pages and weighing over ten pounds, was too accompanied by a full retrospective exhibition of the same name at the Bellevue Arts Museum from October 4, 2019 to March 8, 2020. Of exponential imagination, Williams states: "...In the instance of exponential creativity, previously existing compounded ideas pursue irrational directions every bit they metastasize with unmanageable poetic abstraction. In other words: a calculable explosive aberration, sometimes in the guise of fine art..."[14]
Personal life [edit]
Williams currently lives in the San Fernando Valley in California with his married woman Suzanne, who is too a professional artist.
He is also a unicyclist.[fifteen]
In popular culture [edit]
Robert Williams was referenced in the 1991 Ruby-red Hot Chili Peppers vocal "Mellowship Slinky in B Major" on the album Blood Sugar Sexual practice Magik.
Williams's fine art and personal rat rod were featured in the music video for the song "Who Was in My Room Final Dark?" from the Butthole Surfers' 1993 album Independent Worm Saloon.
Williams's painting Appetite for Devastation was used as the cover fine art on Guns N' Roses debut album which was also given the same name as the painting after Williams approved. Later public outrage forced Geffen Records to move the prototype to the inside sleeve.
Disquisitional reception [edit]
The antics of Coochy Cooty and such paintings as Oscar Wilde in Leadville and Appetite for Destruction caused controversy. Here is Williams'due south response, excerpted from a 1992 interview:
I do not believe that my representation of females aids in their oppression. Information technology is my artistic correct to render the images of adult female as my imagination sees fit. Remember, I will gladly accept the title "Bad Person" to continue my expression. In other words, nothing short of decease will stop me from painting nekkid ladies.[xvi]
Of his paintings, Williams has stated, "My paintings are non designed to entertain you; they are meant to trap you, to agree you lot before them while you try to rationalize what elements of the pic are making y'all stand up at that place."[2]
Of the term "lowbrow," Williams steadfastly denies that the term was ever meant to ascertain his work, saying that information technology was only used in the title of his starting time book (The Lowbrow Art of Robert Williams): "There was never any intention to make the championship of my book the name of a fledging art motion, merely over fourth dimension, that seems to be what has transpired."[17] And on beingness the driving force of the Lowbrow/Pop Surrealism art movement, he said, "Information technology'southward been called Lowbrow Art and Popular Surrealism and a bunch of different names, merely it's a feral art. It'southward an art that raised itself in the wilderness."[13] In a 2015 phone interview, Williams emphasized: "The art movement I get past is 'Colloquial' or 'Exploratory Realism'... 'Feral Art'."[xviii]
Exhibitions and collections [edit]
Williams has exhibited in galleries known for lowbrow art such equally Billy Shire's La Luz de Jesus Gallery, 01 Gallery, and the Tamara Bane Gallery.[2] Known collectors of his art include Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Artie Shaw, Debbie Harry, Anthony Kiedis, Von Dutch, Stanislav Szukalski, Ed Ruscha, and Timothy Leary.[ citation needed ]
- 1970-fourscore "Robert Williams" Jim Brucker'due south Movie Globe (Buena Park, California)
- 1980 "Robert Williams" California Alternative Gallery, (Los Angeles, California)
- 1982 "Zombie Mystery Paintings" Zomo Gallery, (Los Angeles, California)
- 1984 "Art Boys Open Class" Graffiti Gallery, (Los Angeles, California)
- 1985 "Thinking Eye", (Los Angeles, California)
- 1986 "Robert Williams" Psychedelic Solution, (New York, New York)
- 1987 "Robert Williams" La Luz De Jesus Gallery, (Los Angeles, California)
- 1987 "Messages From A Drunken Broom" Psychedelic Solution, (New York, New York)
- 1988 "Felonious Demeanor" Psychedelic Solution, (New York, New York)
- 1989 "Robert Williams" La Luz De Jesus Gallery, (Los Angeles, California)
- 1990 "Robert Williams" Tamara Bane Gallery, (Los Angeles, California)
- 1992 "Robert Williams Paintings" Bess Cutler Gallery, (New York, New York)
- 1995 "Psychopathia Aesthetica" Mambo Gallery, (Sydney, Commonwealth of australia)
- 1995 "Visions In The Venacular" Tamara Bane Gallery, (Los Angeles, California)
- 1997 "Malicious Resplendence" Shafrazi Gallery (New York City)
- 1998 "Robert Williams: New York" Huntington Beach fine art Center, (Huntington Embankment, California)
- 2000 "Best Intentions" Shafrazi Gallery (New York City)
- 2005 "Robert Williams, Through Prehensile Eyes" Otis Higher Of Fine art + Design (Los Angeles, California)
- 2009 "Conceptual Realism: In the Service of the Hypothetical," Shafrazi Gallery (New York Metropolis)
- 2010 "Conceptual Realism: In the Service of the Hypothetical," California State University, Northridge
- 2010 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art (New York City)
- 2011 Los Angeles Art Fair (Los Angeles, California)
- 2011 "Two Schools of Cool," Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach, California)
- 2015 "Robt. Williams: Slang Aesthetics," Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (Los Angeles, California)
- 2015 "Robt. Williams: Slang Aesthetics," Museum of Sonoma County (Santa Rosa, California)
- 2016 "Robt. Williams: Slang Aesthetics," Santa Fe Museum Of Contemporary Art (Santa Iron, New Mexico)
- 2017 "Robt. Williams: Slang Aesthetics," Fort Wayne Museum Of Fine art (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
- 2018 "Robt. Williams: Slang Aesthetics," Louisiana State University Museum Of Art (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
- 2019 "Robert Williams: The Father Of Exponential Imagination" Bellevue Arts Museum (Bellevue,Washington)
Publications [edit]
- The Lowbrow Art of Robt. Williams (Rip Off Press, 1981; re-issued by Last Gasp, 1994)
- Zombie Mystery Paintings by Robt. Williams (Blackthorne Publishing, 1986) — introduction by Robert Crumb
- Visual Habit: The Art of Robt. Williams (Last Gasp, 1990) — out of impress
- Views from a Tortured Libido (Final Gasp, 1993)
- Malicious Resplendence (Fantagraphics, 1997)
- Hysteria in Remission (Fantagraphics, 2002)
- Through Prehensile Eyes (Last Gasp, 2005) — nominated for the Locus Award for Best Art Book
- The Hot Rod World of Robt. Williams, by Mike LaVella (Motorbooks, 2006)
- Conceptual Realism: In the Service of the Hypothetical (Fantagraphics, 2009)
- Slang Aesthetics (Baby Tattoo Books, 2015)
- Robert Williams: The Father Of Exponential Imagination (Fantagraphics, 2019)
References [edit]
- ^ "Suspended site - Webcountry Website Hosting".
- ^ a b c d eastward f Malicious Resplendence 1997
- ^ власник: sketchv'due south channel (2010-02-22). "Robert Williams Show Bout CSUN 2010". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-08-xxx .
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ власник: sketchv'due south channel. "Robert Williams Lecture 2010". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-08-30 .
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ власник: sketchv's aqueduct. "Robert Williams: Mr Bitchin' Q&A". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-08-thirty .
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors listing (link) - ^ "Robert Williams Lifetime Achievement Honour". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2011-08-30 .
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ Fizz magazine #3 (1995).
- ^ Motorbooty #3 1988
- ^ "La Luz de Jesus Presents The Pizz". Laluzdejesus.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-08-xxx .
- ^ Tod Mesirow (26 March 2015). "Robert Williams - The Artist Talks". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Facebook". Facebook.
- ^ a b sketchv (15 June 2015). "Robert Williams: Slang Aesthetics". Archived from the original on 2021-12-21 – via YouTube.
- ^ Robert Williams: The Male parent Of Exponential Imagination
- ^ "The Artist," The Lowbrow Art of Robert Williams (Last Gasp, 1994) pp. 7–8.
- ^ Art? Alternatives #i (1992).
- ^ "beinArt Gallery - A curated space for highly skilled figurative artists with a shared fascination for strange & imaginative themes". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09.
- ^ Sketch Five interviewer. Phone interview with Williams to address errors on this page (August 5, 2015).
External links [edit]
- Official website
- "Lowbrow God", Robert Williams lecture from the L.A. Pigment show at the Oakland Museum of California in 2008. YouTube video, requires Flash.
- "Abstract Leanings: The Hot Rod Earth of Robt. Williams", Gallery of some of Robert Williams' automobile related oil paintings.
- "Acid HEAD: The Conceptual Realism Of Robert Williams" on YouTube Williams defines his fine art movement, Conceptual Realism.
- The History Of The Rat Rod, Part II: Robert Williams' Eights & Aces
- Robert Williams: The Father Of Exponential Imagination. Documents the prove
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