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Baby Tattoo Celebrates Over 10 Years with “Carnival of Astounding Art”

Baby Tattoo is an independent publishing company that was created in 2003 to share the unusual works of then-up and upcoming artists and counter culture. Featured here, the publisher also hosts a number of events for art lovers, such as their popular Baby Tattooville annual retreat. Co-curated by its president Bob Self, Baby Tattoo recently celebrated over 10 years with its exhibition "Baby Tattoo: Carnival of Astounding Art". Currently on view at the Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA), the exhibit highlights the pioneers of Lowbrow, Pop Surrealism, Pinup and other such works that have graced its pages (and ours).


Baby Tattooville 2014 collaborative Art-Jam painting, featuring several artists, on view in “Carnival of Astounding Art”.

Baby Tattoo is an independent publishing company that was created in 2003 to share the unusual works of then-up and upcoming artists and counter culture. Featured here, the publisher also hosts a number of events for art lovers, such as their popular Baby Tattooville annual retreat. Co-curated by its president Bob Self, Baby Tattoo recently celebrated over 10 years with its exhibition “Baby Tattoo: Carnival of Astounding Art”. Currently on view at the Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA), the exhibit highlights the pioneers of Lowbrow, Pop Surrealism, Pinup and other such works that have graced its pages (and ours): Audrey Kawasaki, Coop, Katherine Brannock, Mark Ryden, Michael Whelan, Olivia de Berardinis, Robert Williams, Rolly Crump, and Seonna Hong, to name a few. In addition, Los Angeles based multimedia media artist Thomas Kuntz, known for his contemporary automata, has contributed an installation that was 10 years in the making. Brought together in an eclectic showcase of sculpture, painting, photography, toys, and digital art, their works remind us of how far this community has come. Once considered the misfits of popular art culture, today, they are inspiring a new generation to adopt their styles. In the middle of it all, Baby Tattoo continues to provide a link between them with their books. Take a look at some photos from the opening event below, courtesy of Bob Self; photos by George ©SafariGraphics.com.

“Baby Tattoo: Carnival of Astounding Art” is on view through January 3rd, 2016.

Photos by George ©SafariGraphics.com

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