Enhanced Hippie Drawings by Richard Prince Featured in High Times Magazine
Let's Dive into Richard Prince's Hippie Drawings: A Cannabis Counterculture Juxtaposition
Richard Prince, the controversially beloved American artist, is well-known for his tongue-in-cheek "appropriation works." However, Prince showcases a unique and jovial side in his "Hippie Drawings," a collection of expressive drawings and watercolors that resemble the art of a child or an outsider artist. These sketches served as the catalyst for an intriguing collaboration with HIGH TIMES Magazine.
Hippie Drawings: Outsider Aesthetics and Subculture Iconography Unite
In 2016, Prince partnered with HIGH TIMES Magazine for their September special "Trippy" issue. This marked the artist's initial collaboration with a publication deeply rooted in marijuana counterculture. The "Hippie Drawings" series, created in the late 90s and early 2000s, is a testament to Richard Prince's longstanding fascination with outsider aesthetics and subculture iconography.
These drawings present half-figures of indecipherable gender, wearing big grins and oversized ears, adorned with frizzy hair. The figures appear both amusing and unsettling in their gaze. Combining themes from the American collective unconscious, he manages to filter these marginalized and commonplace elements through an expressive painterly style. In this series, Prince says, "being funny is a way to survive."
Richard Prince - A Budding Love Affair with Marijuana Culture
In an interview with New York magazine earlier this year, Prince expressed an interest in cannabis culture, stating that he wouldn't mind "wearing a pair of shorts and flip-flops and hanging around the jungle smoking weed all day."
The collaboration between Richard Prince and HIGH TIMES Magazine offered a unique insight into the artist's perspective on marijuana culture, as well as providing an enticing crossroads of art and popular media. Blum & Poe held a four-day exhibition featuring HIGH TIMES Magazine covers, curated by Prince himself. The collection traced the publication's history from 1974 to 2014, with Prince selecting covers that represented subjects and themes he often explores in his art.
Blum and Poe: A Cannabis Counterculture Spectacle
The exhibition also featured rolling papers designed by Prince, as well as a specially cultivated marijuana strain. HIGH TIMES Magazine has been at the epicenter of cannabis counterculture since 1974, covering various topics from growing tips and music reviews to the push for marijuana legalization.
The exhibition curated by Richard Prince, traversing the publication's history, was on view at Blum and Poe from July 26th until July 30th, 2016. This collaboration not only demonstrated Prince's willingness to engage with diverse cultural platforms but also underscored his ability to reinterpret cultural narratives through engaging and thought-provoking art.
In the collaboration between Richard Prince and HIGH TIMES Magazine, a unique fusion of art and popular culture emerged, touching upon topics such as fashion-and-beauty, entertainment, and pop-culture as they relate to the counterculture lifestyle associated with marijuana use. Richard Prince, in his expression of interest in cannabis culture, expressed a desire to embrace a lifestyle that integrates fashion, art, and leisure.
