In fact, art writers like Shelton seek to rescue the very word lowbrow from its negative connotations. In Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy, Lawrence Levine notes that at one time Shakespeare was both lowbrow and highbrow: the lower classes and the masses enjoyed the plays as did the culturally, economically, and socially elite. The distinction between highbrow and lowbrow is artificial and fairly recent. It has clear ethical problems, given that once art is classified as highbrow it is considered too sophisticated to be understood by anyone outside of an ivory tower. For this reason, to combat the scourge of elitism in the art world, writers like Shelton and Levine show that all art has the potential to be both low and high. What is important is that the artist is making a statement and connecting with viewers. In fact, some lowbrow art like that of Ryden connects with a wide viewing audience and has the power to accomplish an artist's social and political goals. Social commentary embedded into pop art, such as what Ryden accomplishes, should be sufficient to warrant attention from art history scholars. Compared with artists who are clearly in the pop camp, it is easy to see how Ryden is clearly not classifiable only as lowbrow in the sense of being commercial. For example, the work of Romero Britto is purely pop art produced for commercial mass production. There is no psychological torment in Britto's bright, primary color pop-cubist renditions of people. Yet Shelton might say that the art of Robert Williams is another example of the blurred boundaries between low and high. It is alright to be lowbrow, but when artists like Ryden include powerful imagery that reverberate with viewers, the would-be elite start paying attention.

Placing Mark Ryden in a historical and cultural context is important, because it shows how viewers respond to the art rather than simply art critics. Moreover, Ryden's art may be commercial but it...

Furthermore, much of what is now considered high art was at one time demeaned as being low simply because it appeared to contain elements of popular culture. "Ryden's vocabulary ranges from cryptic to cute, treading a fine line between nostalgic cliche and disturbing archetype," ("Mark Ryden"). The symbolism in a Ryden painting has been described as "dreamy," ("Mark Ryden at the Frye Art Museum").
The highbrow/lowbrow controversy is easily being resolved by art historians committed to placing art within its cultural and historical context. Mark Ryden shows how the boundaries between low and high are being bridged by art. Low and high connote a class consciousness that has no relevance in the postmodern world. Social, political, and cultural realities have changed due to the information revolution. Information technology makes divisions between low and high much less important than they ever were. This is partly because of near universal access to information minimizing the distinction between a cultural elite and popular culture. It is also because of the culture of irony that characterizes postmodern world. Mark Ryden's art capitalizes both on the readily available popular culture symbols as well as the dark humor and irony that characterize the postmodern world. In this sense, Ryden is genuinely a postmodern artist who transcends either high or low.

Works Cited

Levine, Lawrence. Highbrow/Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America. Harvard University Press, 1988.

"Mark Ryden." Website: http://www.markryden.com/biography/index.html

"Mark Ryden at Earl McGrath Gallery." Artweek 34 no5 Je 2003

"Mark Ryden at the Frye Art Museum." Artweek. 36 no2 Mr. 2005.

Shelton, Gilbert. The Lowbrow Art of Robert Williams. San Francisco: Last Gasp, 2002.