The Rozz Tox Manifesto is a 1979

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

by visual artist

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post- underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of '' Arcade: The Com ...

in which Panter rejects the notion of the

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

; instead, an artist is encouraged to work within

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

to reach a larger market.

Effects on culture

The essay influenced Panter's friend

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

, who later went on to become the creator of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

''. In

Matt Howarth Matt Howarth is an American comic book writer/artist known for such series as '' Those Annoying Post Bros'', '' Savage Henry'', '' Star Crossed'', and ''Bugtown''. Biography Howarth's influences include writers Philip K. Dick and H. P. Lovecr ...

's comic '' Stalking Ralph'', the musical group

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vid ...

are portrayed as being created by a "Rozz Tox Virus", whose ultimate goal is to constantly mutate to avoid becoming part of mainstream culture. While the text of the manifesto does not appear in the comic, an alien creature declares, "The

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * Buenos Aires Underground, a rapid transit system * London Underground, a rapid transit system * ...

becomes the establishment", and that the reason The Residents change their band identity so often is to remain underground and to avoid becoming establishment. Howarth's interpretation of Rozz Tox is different from Groening's. While Groening has worked within a capitalist system to create and to perpetuate successful

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

, Howarth's characters are specifically avoiding "selling out" and avoiding popular acceptance. The manifesto is the namesake of outsider art gallery, venue, and café Rozz-Tox in

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

. The café is a favorite stop among touring musicians and is known for events that are unique to the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

area, with special programming dedicated to hosting international experimental artists.

References

Citations

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Sources

Rozz Tox Manifesto
American essays 1979 essays Essays about culture Art manifestos Counterculture of the 1970s Counterculture of the 1980s