Brandi Milne, and a note on my avoidance of "trendy" art

Since the beginning of this blog, I have admittedly been largely avoding "trendy" lowbrow/pop surrealist artwork. It's not that I don't like it - I do! Some can be overly saccharine or smooth, but that's a far better thing than the careless, thoughtless, emotionally sterile slop dished out by most "postmodern" artistes. I think it's more that I didn't want to be just like everyone else in the "alternative" art world, another indie hipster, another Juxtapoz Magazine clone. And guess what? This art blog has not by any means been a Generic Hipster Art Blog; I think it's fair to say that Awkward Emporium is not at any significant risk of becoming a GHAB in the near future.

So in light of the fact that this blog is supposed to reflect more or less the full range of my artistic tastes, albeit with an especial focus on Japanese underground/"indie" art, it's time I start including some lowbrow/pop surrealist artists. It's only one of the many categories I'm interested in, so I needn't be too concerned that my blog will all of a sudden become horribly hip and fashionable. :3 And really, what's so awful about popularity? The love of art is partly about the thrill of finding a wonderful, little-known artist for me, it's true, but a good, popular artist is a good artist nonetheless.

Now, then! On that note, this here is Brandi Milne. She's been in the Los Angeles lowbrow/alternative art scene for the last four years, and in that time she's infiltrated major galleries such as Gallery 1988, La Luz de Jesus and Thinkspace with her visions of a cherry-flavored, sugar-coated alternate universe. Surrounded by giant flora and swirling grasses, her introverted, elastic figures clutch cupcakes, cherries or giant slices of meat, bent over in wafish and posessive thought. The effect is schizophrenic in a manner akin to that of a Junko Mizuno cute-grotesque illustration, but while Mizuno contrasts cute and soft with icky and slimy, Milne contrasts toy-like, cheery and edible with depressed and introverted. In Brandi Milne's paintings, it's the lollipops that're smiling, not the humans. What exactly that says is difficult to pinpoint, but it's significant and worth considering. I can say for myself that I live in a beautiful area full of wealthy people, and many of them don't seem any happier for it. According to her profile on the 686/Faction Website, though, Mme. Milne is simply in it for the beauty. So perhaps I'm reading too much into her work. Perhaps I shall ask?

Artist: Brandi Milne
Type of art: Lowbrow/pop surrealism, illustration, design
Medium: Acrylic paint, ink
Time period: Contemporary
Country of origin: USA
Motifs: Lowbrow feel, elastic cartoon figures, fairytale accoutrement, candy, fruit and sweets, cartoon animals

Madame Milne's Website
Her page at 686/Faction
Her blog