Why So Serious?

Mark Tansey Action Painting

Some of the greatest artists utilized their talents to delve into deep issues forming dark, thought provoking works.  However, equally talented artists have been able to find the lighter side to art, exploring humor through different mediums.  This semester the University of Hawaii Art Department is offering a new class, Art 400 Humor in Art and Mixed-Media Sculpture.  The title of the class focuses on sculpture but the diverse art backgrounds of the students have drawn in humor from various other forms of art.

The Offsetter recently featured an interview with Lauren Jo, the lecturer for Art 400, where they discuss how the class can study such a subjective topic within art.  Jo insists that this healthy discussion of defining "what is humor in art" has added healthy discussion to the class curriculum.  Also, understanding and exploring different types of humor within art has brought a different dimension to the class that was unexpected in the original curriculum.  The class has a blog where students can share pieces of art they find humorous and discuss with classmates.

Click here for the full interview.