Description:Q5098

The book was produced as part of the exhibition Bastard Children of Pop 29 June - 9 July. As Neo Pop emerged as the direct descendent of Pop Art, the proliferation of larger than life celebrity bling, wanton consumerism and hollow gesture filled galleries, magazines and festivals around the world. Golden statues of Michael Jackson and Bubbles, Tiger sharks frozen in formaldehyde or life size manga cartoon statues with lasso like semen reflected the decade of excess that was being referenced and reflected upon. Popular culture had never seemed more perverse. Money was no object in the creation of these idols. But there was an alternative faction forming within the Pop family. Subcultures had begun to emerge almost as soon as the term 'popular culture' had been termed. A desire to act in a contrary fashion to popular culture fuelled a growing group of artists who acted outside of and apparently against Pop. The slickness of Neo Pop was indeed a sickening sight to these artists and they began to use the leftovers and the discarded materials of their wealthier relatives. Where Neo Pop Artists revere Marvel comics, the Bastard children might reference internet pornography. Where Neo Pop artists might use diamonds, the Bastard Children used bathroom tiles.

Text source: http://www.angus-hughes.com/The-Bastard-Children-of-Pop.