The Pizz
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The Pizz has been around for centuries, it
seems. You know his work when you see it:
expressive paintings, hot rod art, Hustler
Honeys, tiki bar art and the like.
Eschewing much of the limelight and glitzy
marketing of many of his notable
contemporaries, Pizz prefers to let his art
speak for itself all the while staying true
to his underground roots. All the while his
art speaks volumes as he launches into
various tirades and discourses on the state
of the lowbrow nation. |
You can discern
Pizz’ tendency toward anti-socialism if you plug
into some of his influences: Mad Comics, Zap Comics,
loads of cartoons, but especially Tex Avery, van
murals and hotrods, black light posters, Jimi
Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, The Stooges,
Big Daddy Roth and Robert Williams. His art is not
easily pigeon-holed (well, except for his obviously
self-referential "Pizz Paintings"). His legend only
grows as he continues to produce new artwork, most
recently showing a new batch of paintings deemed
"his best work yet" at the infamous La Luz de Jesus
Gallery in Hollywood, CA.
If "Big Daddy" Ed Roth was the God of Lowbrow, Pizz
is certainly the Lord of the movement. Original and
creative, like Jesus, he leads by example with deft
brushwork, luminous overlay of color and a keen
artistic sensibility, conferring his message to his
disciples like the second coming. Name a
contemporary "lowbrow" artist who doesn’t revere The
Pizz as one of his major influences. Go ahead, we
dare you.
Known primarily as a painter, The Pizz has always
explored other artistic avenues including magazine
illustration, commercial design for television and
computer animation. He has published tons of
illustrations in Hustler Magazine. He was notorious
a few years ago as the mastermind behind the Murder
Trading Cards, which ended up gaining Pizz the
attention of such media outlets as CNN.
As a commercial artist, The Pizz has designed a
multitude of album covers including designs for Bad
Religion, L7 and Slash Records, for which he did a
famous comic booklet insert. His designs have graced
books, comics, tattoo flash sets, t-shirts and more.
He shifted into overdrive with high octane designs
for Big Daddy Roth studios, known for their "Rat
Fink" character. Although the work was signed by
Roth as all his famous 60’s designs done by other
artists, the sneaky Pizz began hiding his
distinctive PIZZ signature within the art itself.
A mainstay of the hot rod and tiki counter-culture
movement, The Pizz is here to stay. In the
meantime, check out all of the
new Pizz sticker
designs.
Pizz products |