Untitled, It might easily -be drawn into drawings, 1990

Raymond Pettibon is a prolific contemporary American artist who is known for his drawings, which combine image and text and are often violent, ironic, and/or anti-authoritarian. Much of his illustration is political in nature, and uses black humor to critique contemporary culture. His primary medium is India ink on paper, and many of his works are black and white, although some are colored with watercolors, acrylics, pencils, gouache, or collage. His style is reminiscent of editorial cartoons, and is influenced by William Blake, Edward Hopper, and Francisco Goya. Raymond Pettibon got his start in the punk rock scene in the 1970s, and has created album covers, posters and other ephemera for bands such as Black Flag and Sonic Youth. Since 1978, he has produced limited edition photocopy booklets of his work, which he calls "Superflux Pubs," and from 1981 to 1986 he published his illustrations as an independent magazine,Tripping Corpse. Raymond Pettibon has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Bucksbaum Award in 2004 and the University of Vienna's Oscar Kokoschka Prize in 2010. (Artist website)