LA Pop Art

If you like a piece that rewards a closer look, they tend to land well. Each design is text-based artwork, drawn entirely by hand in a style known as micrography, so the image is literally built from words. That idea-led approach is the real draw, so the value depends on how much you enjoy wearing art that doubles as a conversation starter.

Los Angeles Pop Art, also known as LA Pop Art, is an American company that creates text-based artwork drawn entirely by hand, a technique also called micrography. Using entire movie scripts, complete song lyrics and manuscripts, the company forms images out of the text that tell the story of that specific image.

The designs are drawn entirely by hand rather than generated automatically. By using whole movie scripts, complete song lyrics and manuscripts, LA Pop Art creates images out of the text so that the words themselves narrate the picture. It is that script-into-portrait method that defines the brand's look.

Los Angeles Pop Art was founded by Joseph Leibovic and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The founder discovered the micrography style in 1994 while watching street artists in the town of Tzvat, and the company was finally brought to life after he moved back to Los Angeles in 2004.

The portfolio of hand-drawn designs is used to make a range of products that include apparel and wall art, among others. The designs are also licensed to partner companies for everything from stickers to beach towels, so the same word-art can show up well beyond a tee.

Yes, extensively. LA Pop Art has created pieces for major names including AC/DC, KISS, David Bowie, Def Leppard, ZZ Top, the Bob Marley Estate, and films such as The Godfather, Scarface and Rocky. That roster of music and film properties is a big part of the brand's appeal for fans.

LA Pop Art products are sold online in numerous stores as well as in traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. The brand has also supplied high-profile tourist gift shops in locations such as Times Square and the Chicago Skydeck, so you may spot the word-art designs in museum and landmark shops too.

It is. A Ronald Reagan portrait recreating his "Tear down this wall!" speech was accepted into the Official Presidential Art Collection and is displayed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Original LA Pop Art pieces are also part of the permanent collection at Ripley's Believe It or Not! museums around the world.

In 1994, while living in Israel, Joseph Leibovic discovered the micrography style by watching street artists in the mystical town of Tzvat. The idea of Americanizing it, by making posters of classic films out of entire scripts and music icons out of their legendary lyrics, matured over the following nine years before the company launched in 2004.

Sizing comes down to personal fit and the cut you prefer, so it is worth checking the specific product's size guide before ordering. Because the design is built from fine hand-drawn text, picking a comfortable fit also helps the artwork sit well and stay readable on the body.

An ordinary graphic tee prints a picture; an LA Pop Art piece builds the picture out of words. Every design is hand-drawn micrography that uses real scripts, lyrics or manuscripts so the text tells the story of the image. That conceptual layer is what sets the brand apart from standard printed graphics.