We Need to Talk About the 'Toons' – They're Taking Over

01

Image

—01. Felix Gets Broadcasted (2007) by Mark Leckey.

Words

Oliver Basciano wrote this on the nose piece for Art Review about the recent proliferation of popular cartoons in contemporary art. The toon takeover has been impossible to ignore while browsing gallery and museum shows alike, as lowbrow styles have very much come back to the fore. I have found myself drawn to many of the works he brings up in the article, as I count Philip Guston, Bjarne Melgaard, David Musgrave and Mark Leckey among my favorite artists. I like to believe that it's the perversion of these Americana idols that draws me in, but it may be that I am just more prone to nostalgia than I would like to admit.

—Art Review