Once in an interview with Trevor Brown was asked: "Why are you so cruel to treat little girls on your canvases?" "This is not cruelty at all! I call my work misanthropy!" - this is what the scandalous artist answered, smiling sweetly.
Trevor Brown - who is he
What made this man so famous? Trevor Brown is a flamboyant artist, originally from England. He prefers to shock the public with a depiction of violence, Satanism and child sexuality in his paintings. Despite such a terrifying, unusual sight, there were fans of the artist’s work. Regarding the style of paintings, for the most part they resemble the traditional features of pop art. However, Trevor himself combined his own paintings into a single style, which he later called baby art.
Entertainment or a nightmare
Although Trevor Brown’s work is truly provocative, it’s really what it is remarkable for. Just the terrible things depicted on the artist’s canvases are striking, attracting the eye and causing some interest. The art of Trevor is a peculiar middle of eastern and western pop cultures. The English artist managed to get an unusual urban style from these poorly combined cultures , resulting in a bright exciting mixture - catchy sexual fantasies expressed through Asian schoolgirls.
Trevor Brown Biography
How did the creative journey of an extravagant artist begin? Trevor Brown was born in the capital of England. After graduating from art school, the guy went along the traditional path of most modern illustrators - he got a job in a small design studio. For several years, the future artist worked in a variety of advertising agencies and design workshops. So Trevor became a highly sought-after advertising illustrator of London, being very young. In the late 80s, Brown joined the ranks of a radical underground organization of artists. Having engaged in illustrating several popular records and albums, the artist Trevor Brown gained treasured popularity.
Over time, the shocking illustrator got tired of the measured and absolutely calm rhythm of the British life. The hypocrisy and boringness of the English nation became boring to the artist, he became uninterested in the culture of this country. So Brown became actively interested in Japanese art and oriental heritage. During this period, a London illustrator met the musician Masami Akita and entered into correspondence with him. Communicating with his new friend, Trevor gradually began to learn the realm of modern experimental music, and he really liked it.
Life in japan
Trevor Brown's interest in Japanese culture grew every day, and in the early 90's he still managed to break out of boring England and move to a colorful Asian country. There, the artist quickly got accustomed, acquired regular customers and even gained popularity among local art lovers. Trevor Brown's paintings began to be published in Japanese art publications, and galleries in the Land of the Rising Sun opened their doors to the illustrator.
After only a few years of living in Tokyo, the artist married the famous geysha. His work in the vastness of Japan became truly popular, and the illustrator himself became popular. Gradually, Trevor became very close to musicians involved in experimental work, which significantly affected the art of the artist at that time.
Soon, Brown's works began to be published in pornographic magazines, and his constant source of inspiration, the artist chose Japanese girls, whose images on Trevor's paintings today horrify the audience of galleries.
Brown Style
In his art, the artist Trevor Brown combines the basic features inherent in Western and Eastern cultures. It was he who became the founder of a new direction in contemporary art, which he called baby art. Having created sex work in contemporary art, Trevor Brown combined pornography, satanic torture, Japanese schoolgirls, sadomasochism, outlines of pop art, pedophilia, dolls and medical fetishism in his paintings. For a simple layman, such a combination will probably seem at least inadequate. However, in the presentation of Trevor Brown, his works present to the public their own view of girlish sexuality.
Asian schoolgirls, who are still extolled in Japan, became a source of inspiration for the artist. In fact, there is a cult among Japanese men dedicated specifically to schoolgirls. For some reason, very young girls there become real celebrities, uniting in musical groups, dance groups and theater troupes. Various spectacles with the participation of girls capture Japanese men; such events are always extremely cheerful and vibrant. So Trevor took his inspiration from the Japanese cult of schoolgirls. True, the essence of his work does not comply at all with modest oriental principles.
Images on Trevor's canvases
A generalized image of the artist Trevor Brown’s works is a Japanese schoolgirl, dressed in a classic plaid skirt, with her hands tied. Or a very small naked girl with a lollipop in her mouth, surrounded by all kinds of toys and phallus symbols. Almost all of his paintings depict some kind of violence, phallic symbolism, naked girls and toys. Visually, all this chaos in no way fits into a single composition, united by any particular subject. Maybe that is why Trevor is credited with the style of pop art.
Brown is often accused of pedophilia and love of everything violent. However, from this the illustrator's interest in his own work only grew. The more often Trevor’s work was banned, the more he wanted to portray something tougher and unacceptable.
Artist's work
To understand the depth of Brown's work, his illustrations must first be seen. For his rather rich career in the field of art, which has been going on for more than ten years, the artist has earned a truly cult status. Oddly enough, his crushing paintings in large numbers adorned all kinds of underground publications, books and albums, T-shirts, records and even greeting cards. Trevor illustrated album covers for popular bands Coil, John Zorn, Deicide, Kayo Dot, Whitehouse, Venetian Snares.
Among other things, in the artist’s creative luggage there are many prohibited illustrations by Trevor Brown, which never saw the light of day. For example, one of these works was a French book called Alice in the Garden of Evil, which Brown illustrated. This publication has not been approved for sale.
In 2008, Brown became a party to a lawsuit that protected his copyrights. The conflict escalated due to the fact that the famous band Crystal Castles began to use Trevor's illustrations without his permission. In the same year, the case was stopped on the basis of a financial agreement of the parties.
At home, the artist's art caused an mixed reaction from the English audience and the media. It also influenced Trevor’s decision to leave London forever and leave for Tokyo.
Often Brown is compared with the famous Mark Ryden, who also preferred to use children's characters and a variety of options for the manifestation of violence, suffering and pain. However, the artist himself denies the similarity with Mark, of course, insisting on his own uniqueness and individuality.
English artist today
Now Brown’s work is considered an integral part of Japanese art. For many years, Trevor has been married to a geisha who supports her husband in every way. He is one of the most active participants in the design of prestigious Japanese pornographic publications. In addition, Brown collaborates with the popular underground periodicals of Europe and America. True, despite successful cooperation, Trevor Brown’s paintings are still prohibited from being imported into many European countries.