SECRET MYSTIC RITES: The Art Of Todd Schorr

by Todd Schorr

The Art of Todd Schorr

Genres: Art

96 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

About the author

Todd Schorr is an American artist and member of the "Lowbrow", or pop surrealism, art movement. Combining a cartoon influenced visual vocabulary with a highly polished technical ability, based on the exacting painting methods of the Old Masters, Schorr weaves intricate narratives that are often biting yet humorous in their commentary on the human condition.

Reviews

[David Katzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 A Greater Monster.

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.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Todd Schorr is such an amazing artist he can be forgiven for being so dang derivative of Robert Williams. His images are disturbing, exciting and hysterically funny.
I liked the aliens from outer space performing midnight cattle mutilations in Bog's Big Boy outfits. There's the painting of the mermaid sarcophagus. There's the studious Thirties couple with centipede bodies poking out of their dinner jackets. There's the rubber pimp daddy made out of tires who could probably kick the Michelin tire boy's ass. Todd Schorr - lowbrow surrealist extraordinaire.

[David Macpherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art is crazy, the text is informative and personal. A nice art collection. The book included a nice piece of text from Schorr talking of his history as an artist and his techniques. This was a well done addition to the madcap art.