Mexico Atomico! Mexican Pop Retro Kitsch Art and Design

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 7 people | Log in to rate

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Kitsch style! Lowbrow brio! Outsider verve! Delicious Mexican pop culture retro art for the atomic set!

Mexico Atomico! is Vic Atomic's showcase of lowbrow atomic art inspired by all types of Mexican kitsch, history, and popular culture - a smorgasbord of bold colors, bright designs, zany characters and impossible settings. Think space-age-tiki-lounge-south-of-the-border; a retro-future Aztec metropolis; larger-than-life luchadores fighting-off evil scientists and uncanny monsters; alien babes vacationing in Cancun! Find this exciting gaudy happy fun microcosm of Mexican iconography in art, apparel, and print!

Ah, and please let Vic Atomic know you stopped-by :-).

Atomico!

The ART! 

Sketches and ideas - much, MUCH more to come!

curated content from Flickr

Mexico Atomico! - The inspiration... 

Mexico Atomico! was inevitable - an amalgamation of Vic Atomic's art style and the many sources of visuals from the motherland that beg incesant interpretation. It is a rich culture with no lack of colorful and universally-recognizable iconography, whether plucked from the Aztec or Mayan civilizations; traditions such as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead); popular (and revered) institutions like lucha libre (wrestling) and tiltillating burlesque shows; iconic mainstays from religion (Virgen de Guadalupe), folklore (El Chupacabras), and art from classic muralists (Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros); and the celebrated, plebeian (maybe), sometimes vulgar, but decidedly notorious comic book art.

Add atomic art to the mix and POOF! - Mexico Atomico!

So, the next question is...

What is this "atomic" art, anyway? 

...and why is everything "atomic" with you?

Ah, the joy! Creatively speaking, I consider "atomic art" my retro-futuristic utopian infusion of never-realized technological naiveté expressed in nonsensical illustrated joy... Flying cars! Robot maids! Jet packs! - This was the promising world-to-be that did not happen, with all the glitter and glamour of delicious design+technology for fabulous everyday living!

"Atomic" and "atomic art" in my body of work are simply pointers to the era, vision, and technology from which I draw whatever inspiration can be found in this my art. I use the terms playfully and gleefully; you will hardly find any serious matter here, only silly, zany, FUN "stuff." The art is meant to make you look at it in disbelief - "Is this for real? Is this 'art'?" It is meant to make you smirk, smile, and hopefully, enjoy it precisely for what it is. Fun.

CTRL+D'd 

...a few favorites

Artbook Coalition on Ning
More bits and pieces about this Vic Atomic...
Art Off-The-Wall Murals
Showcase of Vic Atomic's talented sister...
Juxtapoz Magazine
THE SOURCE for lowbrow outsider underground art
The Art of Shag (Josh Agle)
The artist who put my genre on the map!
Magnatune!
Music from the source! Many genres, no labels.

Amazon.com - Cartoon delights, part 2 

Cantinflas Show!

DVDs

"Cantinflas" is the stage name of golden-age-of-Mexican-film comedian Mario Moreno, who many regarded as the Mexican Groucho Marx. In these cartoons from the late '70s/early '80s, Cantinflas stars as a delightful character who travels through history visiting famous inventors, philosophers, and visionaries as well as civilizations and cultures. These shorts were beloved by many, particularly children.

Need atomic art with some Mexican kitsch flair? 

Vic Atomic is your man!

Paper, canvas, digital, whatever - Vic Atomic does what he does best. Contact me (VicAtomic@hotmail.com) and let us discuss your ideas!

Soooo...what do you think? 

Is this your cup of tea?

Tell me you love it...or hate it...or both

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by VicAtomic

Vic Atomic is Victor Hernandez, a Mexican expat retro hubby daddy-o rogue genius and gentle madman with a penchant for kitsch lowbrow pop art a-la car... (more)

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