Battle of the Lowbrow Books
(not as exciting as ' Battle of the Network Stars')
(or even 'Circus of the Stars')

Pop Surrealism - The Rise of Underground Art
Kirsten Anderson (editor)
Carlo McCormick (essay)
Larry Reid (essay)
Robert Williams (essay)
Ignition Publishing / Last Gasp
Hardcover
156 pages
$39.95
ISBN - 0867196181

Weirdo Deluxe - The Wild World of Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art
Matt Dukes Jordan
Chronicle Books
Paperback
192 pages
$24.95
ISBN - 081184241x

Both books feature 23 artists, 15 of them are the same:
Josh 'Shag' Agle
Anthony Ausgang
Glenn Barr
Tim Biskup
Kalynn Campbell
Joe Coleman
Camille Rose Garcia
Liz McGrath
Scott Musgrove
The Pizz
Mark Ryden
Isabel Samaras
Todd Schorr
Eric White
Robert Williams

Pop Surrealism also includes -
The Clayton Brothers
Alex Gross
Don Ed Hardy
Charles Kraft
Niagara
Marion Peck
Liza Petrucci
XNO

Weirdo Deluxe also includes -
Gary Baseman
Stacy Lande
Skot Olsen
Gary Panter
Kathy Staico Schorr
Owen Smith
Joe Sorren
Gary Taxali

Shag images in Pop Surrealism -
Prelude To Domestic Strife (2001)
Masquerade (2003)
Vice Monkeys (1999)
In Dreams (2003)
Fashionable Terrorist (2001)
West Coast Jazz (2003)

Shag images in Weirdo Deluxe -
Kind of Blue (1999)
The Rare Steak (2001)
Spirits (2002)
The Watcher (2002)
It Is Certain (2002)
The Impossible View (2000)


It really is a Coke/Pepsi thing - they're both colas (or books about 'lowbrow' art), it's a personal decision. i like the formality and professional presentation displayed within Pop Surrealism, but i also enjoy the 'Lowbrow Influences + History' running from pages 14 to 27 in Weirdo Deluxe and that Panter and Baseman were included.

Shag-wise, i think that the images in PS give a better idea of his scope - too bad neither of them have any pre-1999 paintings...

If you have the cash, get both. If not, hang out in your favorite independent bookstore, thumb through both books, and make a decision.

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i need a new topic for the ol' voting system on the left - any suggestions? Best idea will get a prize.

What sort of prize, you ask? I have no clue - something or other (once we get done unpacking all of our stuff {yet again]).