Juxtapoz Exhibit in Laguna Beach: Dark, Vulgar, Beautiful and Awesome.

Easily one of the coolest exhibits I have ever been to, the Juxtapoz exhibit in Laguna Beach was something I would definitely recommend to a friend. Three floors of art - top floor just landscapes, second floor huge crazy art, third floor shocking hawaiian ladies. If you want to experience something unique and different this is the place to go.

A little about the exhibition: In the Land of Retinal Delights: The Juxtapoz Factor is an exhibition that presents the work of 150 artists and posits that there has been a huge, but unacknowledged art movement taking place in this country for the last 40 years. Since 1994, this ground swelling of lowbrow, surrealistic, pop, figurative, narrative work has coalesced and found a voice in the pages of Juxtapoz magazine published in San Francisco. This rag has become the most widely read art magazine in the US. It is an influencing force on the aspiring artists of Generation Y and the Millennials, who are now enrolling in art schools in numbers never seen before.

Since art is so subjective, I will just leave you with these pictures. (You are not allowed to take pictures but I snuck these in.)

Some pieces that we found online that were there:

These were some items in their gift shop.

Overall: We all agreed that we liked seeing such different art. Beauty in darkness.

Tips:
*Parking is a biatch - you can try finding street parking or you can park at Las Brisas (the fancy Mexican restaurant) next to the museum. Las Brisas is $6 for 3 hours or $25 if you go down to the beach and shop. (Ahem, I think you know what you need to say.)

*Walk from the top down - 3rd floor isn't really that necessary (it's only if you like landscapes) but go from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor bc the 1st floor will kind of shock you.

*Check out Juxtapoz online to see if this stuff interests you before you go.

*$10 bucks for regular admission, $8 bucks for student (second ahem if you have an old student ID, I suggest you bring it)

Who should go?: People who want to see really interesting, different art. People who want to enjoy a nice afternoon in Laguna Beach - beautiful weather, the smell of the ocean...just expect the crowds. (Damn you MTV!)

SPECIAL SUMMER HOURS:
JUNE 22 – AUGUST 31 ONLY
Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Sat and Sun: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location:
The Museum is located on the south-west corner of the crossing of Pacific Coast Highway and Cliff Drive.

Laguna Art Museum
307 Cliff Drive
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Map
949.494.8971

Sign On San Diego has a good write up of this exhibit, too.