GARY PANTER AND OUTSIDER ART

Here's my favorite picture of Gary Panter, the amazing artist who did the "Elvis Zombie" picture in my left sidebar. Gary's what you call an "Outsider" artist.

Here's (above) another view of Elvis Zombie, this time darkened and compressed. 

You can see what some of Gary's influences must be: Warhol, Lichtenstein, Picasso, Pollack, underground comics, Punk, Graffiti,  and maybe Leger, Stella, Dufy, Hockney and Basquiet. No doubt I'm missing names. It doesn't matter much because Gary managed to carve out his own style regardless of influence.

Here (above) he tries a crayon look.

Haw! Panter (above) must have been influenced by 3D comics, the way they look before you put the glasses on.

And here's (above) the world as it would appear if we were all made of happy little colored worms..

Ouch! This one hurts! I like Reagan and I hate to see him ridiculed this way. Even so, I simply can't ignore the beautiful technique.  

For those who didn't recognize Basquiat's name (spelled right?), here's an example of his work, above.

I also mentioned Stella. I'm guessing the above picture is his, but there's Lichtenstein and Hockney influences. 

Here's (above) a Leger from 1944. Boy, the roots of Outsider Art go way back, back to Dada in fact.

Despite all its resistance to commerce, Outsider Art also finds its way into fashion photography. I generally prefer happy, cheerful styles but I'm seduced by the cleverness of this approach. It's so...bold!