Idle Hands Are the Devil's Tools

Witch (Is She Weird?) by COOP

If you're a fellow fan of "Lowbrow" art, then you absolutely can't miss the current show at the Corey Helford Gallery, "Idle Hands: Works by COOP". I've long been a fan of his work, especially that cute devil girl with the Popsicle. There is such a cheeky vibrancy to his images that they always make me happy. Playful, erotic, energetic and silly, they have a gonzo disregard for self-serious aesthetics.

But don't think that they are amateurish. COOP's work is technically exquisite. His color utilization is bold and sophisticated. The line work and compositional design keeps the eyes playing around the canvas. An especially impressive technical feat is how COOP creates a overtly flattened image but, through overlapping text or images, creates the impression of foreground and background. It is a very dynamic style.

American Woman (Jasper's Flag) by COOP

But most of all, it's fun!!!

As a comic book and science fiction enthusiast, I just love his subject matter. COOP takes old school pulp images and reinvents them in accordance with his quirky vision. This image is a prime example:



Startling (Defending the Uncanny Valley Against the Attack of the Xenophallites) by COOP


That basic image of a robot saving a lady from a killer alien is a standard of SciFi magazines. However, I can't image Hugo or old Mort Weisinger giving the go on these particular interpretations of the trope. Bim, BEM, bum!!!

And, of course, it wouldn't be a COOP show without a Devil Girl. ;-)



Drunk Devil by COOP


Here's a Not Safe For Work vid: COOP vid (NSFW)

And here's some music:

I adored this show. It's cooler than a Popsicle!!!

Here's the Corey Helford Gallery website.

Here's COOP's official website.

Enjoy!!!