La Luz de Jesus and a super scary surprise ending (Patreon)

Unguided video tour of La Luz de Jesus. Stay tuned for the very special Surprise ending! 

La Luz de Jesus is an art gallery in Los Angeles. It was founded by Billy Shire in 1986. Billy Shire has been called the Peggy Guggenheim of Lowbrow art. 

Lowbrow is a loose term for an art movement that grew out of the 60's underground comix scene, graffiti art, hot rod culture, punk rock, tiki culture. It's called "pop surrealism" sometimes and I think sometimes "new contemporary." I don't know.

Early examples of Lowbrow are

• Big Daddy Ed Roth
• Robert Williams
• Todd Schorr

The magazines Juxtapoz and Hi-Fructose are products of the lowbrow art movement. 

I am the product of the lowbrow art movement. Growing up my visual vocabulary was shaped by looking at skateboard graphics, 90's cartoons, heavy metal and punk rock album art. Much of that imagery was influenced by this underground aesthetic.

La Luz de Jesus is a historic landmark for this type of art. It's located on Hollywood Blvd. inside of Soap Plant/Wacko, which is a book store/novelty shop. 

I made some new friends. I met the artist Alex Pardee. 

But my favorite part of the evening was Jane Tardo's  Haunted Hearse Cell Phone ride (end of the video.)

Go Follow Jane on Instagram she designed and built this intricate spooky miniature roller coaster inside of a hearse and drove it from New Orleans to Los Angeles with her partner Benjamin. It's just a really cool idea. And she seems like a very creative person so go give her some love. 

Here's a better video showing the whole experience of the ride (I chose the "ride and a good luck charm" option)

You might also Like

This interview with Billy Shire about the history of Lowbrow 

This documentary about Robert Williams: "Mr. Bitchin"  

This Book about Lowbrow: Weirdo Deluxe: The Wild World of Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow Art