Foto do autor

Todd Schorr

Autor(a) de Dreamland

4+ Works 84 Membros 5 Reviews

Obras de Todd Schorr

Associated Works

Twisting the Rope (1986) — Artista da capa, algumas edições645 cópias
The Coming of the Quantum Cats (1986) — Artista da capa, algumas edições552 cópias
Little Heroes (1987) — Artista da capa, algumas edições246 cópias
The Dream Years (1985) — Artista da capa, algumas edições210 cópias
Things Invisible to See (1984) — Artista da capa, algumas edições119 cópias
Pop Surrealism: The Rise Of Underground Art (2004) — Ilustrador, algumas edições114 cópias
Fuzzy Dice (2003) — Artista da capa, algumas edições79 cópias
Other Americas (1988) — Artista da capa, algumas edições70 cópias
Shuteye for the Timebroker (2006) — Artista da capa, algumas edições32 cópias
Out of Sight, Out of Mind (1985) — Artista da capa, algumas edições21 cópias

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Sexo
male

Membros

Resenhas

Todd Schorr is one of our living modern masters. He, along with a select list of other contemporary artists including Mark Ryden and Robert Williams, has evolved a distinct yet recognizable style that blends the figurative skill and craft of fine realist narrative painting with a contemporary pop culture sensibility. I call it cartoon surrealism. It's a bit like what you might get if Dali made an Adult Swim cartoon. I've been a fan of his work since I first saw it in Juxtapoz magazine, an art magazine that I have been buying since issue two in 1994. In fact, for a long time, I wanted to get a massive tattoo on my back of a couple characters from his painting Intergalactic Hot Rodders, but I ended up, wisely I'm sure, deciding that it would nearly impossible to find a tattoo artist who could copy the detail and dimensionality of the original.



If you are interested in contemporary art and street art, then I highly recommend you subscribe to Juxtapoz. It never fails to intrigue or challenge your sensibilities. I have picked up all of Schorr's books (and reviewed another Todd Schorr collection here) but for this one, which Mr. Schorr was kind enough to send me in trade for a copy of [b:A Greater Monster|12480602|A Greater Monster|David David Katzman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1315706831s/12480602.jpg|17465192].

This is Schorr's earliest body of work, and it reveals some of his evolution as he developed his signature style. Although I have seen many of these paintings before, it was exciting to discover some treasures I hadn't. I was unaware of how much he had applied cubist techniques early on. And it became more obvious how much of an influence Robert Williams was to his formation. And while Schorr's paintings are still likely to feature bright psychedelic colors, his color palette evolved to include much moodier, darker tones that create more contrast, depth, and focus.

Schorr often fluctuates between themes that are more playful and those that are darker. I was surprised to find how disturbing a few of these early works were, such as this one, Cannibal Cat:



Some of my favorites are:









If you are already a Schorr fan, then this book is worth buying for more than the collection of Schorr's early work (and the centerfold of the outrageous Verne to Vader: Noteworthy Highlights Concerning the History of Space Fiction in Popular Culture). It also features a long autobiographical essay that relates Schorr's history and experiences as he made the leap from commercial illustrator to self-supporting fine artist. A rare feat that many of us who are writers or artists aspire to. It requires a combination of great skill, incredible determination, and good fortune. In this case, well deserved.
… (mais)
 
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David_David_Katzman | 1 outra resenha | Nov 26, 2013 |
When I gaze at a Todd Schorr painting, I feel like I’m in 5th grade again with my best friend (at the time, later WORST ENEMY when he threw a tack at me in the middle of high school Latin class and thought it was just so hilarious when it stuck in my hand, started listening to and dressing like BILLY IDOL—not in class—and tried to get my friends to DRINK ALCOHOL!* with him—also not in class—instead of play Dungeons & Dragon with me…damn you Keith Rundl!!!) in darkest winter when we were sledding down a neighborhood hill on those plastic saucers, and we ended up in the backyard of the hottest teacher in middle school and decided to knock on her door and say hello, and from there ended up in her kitchen being served cookies and milk while she stood there in her BATHROBE having just gotten out of the SHOWER, freshly scrubbed with a sprinkling of freckles across the top of her OLDER-WOMAN breastesses…that is to say: my jaw drops, I go glassy eyed, and all I can really say is, “Huh-whuh?”**

There is another reason Todd Schorr makes me feel like I’m in fifth grade again. He takes all the classic media icons from his childhood (which was relatively concurrent with mine) and vomits them into a Brueghel-esque tableaux of pop-culture insanity. If Mark Ryden embraces pop culture, Todd Schorr molests the hell out of it. Schorr’s favorite tropes include: monster movies, science fiction, advertising, carnivals, pirates, King Kong, Christian icons, fairytales and any of the weird and subconscious dreams of a media obsessed culture. His paintings are too detailed to do justice to in small jpgs, especially the ones of monstrous size, but Dali, Bosch and Brueghel are the obvious touch points. The style is sometimes called Pop Surrealism. Schorr’s work is both homage and critique. Worship and folly. Straightforward yet ambiguous. And always infused with a wondrous sense of imagination. His obsessive compulsive attention to detail permits you to gaze at his work for hours and still discover new elements. Every stone chipped on the dias beneath the Pirate King’s feet. The gold and blue beads around the neck of the Chinese Vampire Ghost. Every dollop of paint on the palette of the golden gorilla skeleton painting the cubist rendition of King Kong fighting a T-rex as he stands on a rock before the actual King Kong fighting a T-rex. Every popping vein and viscous drool lovingly elucidated.

Schorr’s skill at rendering dimensional fantasy nightmares is unmatched. And his narrative skills allow you to explore your own inner demons in a way that allows you to both laugh and feel disgust, too. Is this what makes us up? Are we nothing but reflections of cultural detritus? McCluhan said that the medium is the message, and Schorr points out that the message is us.

Unsurprisingly, pop surrealists like Schorr are still spurned by most major contemporary art museums. Which is really a great shame for the museums that would likely find themselves inundated with visitors if they opened up to the modern masters of cartoon narrative, graffiti and street art. They would also, in fact, be making themselves a lot more relevant at the same time. Who needs to see another block of shiny blue plastic called art? Let’s see some actual effort and skill from one person rather than that person’s assistants.

Here’s a taste of Schorr's work:



*I didn’t drink alcohol until college, but I’ve made up for it since then. And I’ve broadened out into a variety of non-alcoholic intoxicants. But Billy Idol still sucks!!!

**To this day, I still have no idea why she let us in or what she said to us. I do remember clearly standing there stuffed into my down parka while she was one terry-cloth tie away from nekkid.
… (mais)
 
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David_David_Katzman | 1 outra resenha | Nov 26, 2013 |
American Surreal is a great overview of the work of Todd Schorr, and a handsomely-produced book to boot. In addition to high-quality reproductions of some of Schorr's most recent paintings, this book also includes commentaries by Schorr himself on some of the major works reproduced herein, which goes a long way towards deciphering the private language in which the artist typically dwells. If you're an admirer of Schorr's artwork, this book is fairly essential.
 
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dr_zirk | 1 outra resenha | Dec 6, 2009 |
This book is very well written. It not only shows off Tod Schorr's wonderfully creative paintings, but also explains his inspirations and intentions for each piece.
 
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beakerboy | Mar 18, 2007 |

Estatísticas

Obras
4
Also by
10
Membros
84
Popularidade
#216,911
Avaliação
½ 3.6
Resenhas
5
ISBNs
4

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