A Schorr Thing
Life and especially work can be frustrating for all of us. It’s the pressure of staying alive and earning a crust that holds back so many artists, many highly talented people find themselves stuck in a commercial quagmire where true freedom of self-expression is but only a dream, and to be honest, for the most part they are the lucky ones. One inspirational artist who “played the game” and then found his own way in the world of non-commercial art is Todd Schorr. Pop artist, low-brow painter, and incredibly talented Schorr’s work reminds somewhat of the Pop Art god that is Ron English.
Both take inspiration from much of America’s mass pop-culture, both with a tinge of nostalgia for a simpler less media-savvy time which itself is tainted with today’s all-seeing all-knowing corporate/government controlled state that we all must live by in the modern world. Again in keeping with Ron English there’s a seriously surrealist streak to Schorr’s paintings, absolutely beautiful “shiny” tones and textures that near enough “plasticize” the subject matter. Compostionally I’d say that in general Schorr’s paintings lean more towards surrealist landscape art, in keeping with the earliest known example of fully fledged surrealism, the triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by painting Hieronymus Bosch, although there are examples more reminiscent of English’s surreal portraits.
- The Spectre of Monster Appeal
- The Spectre of Cartoon Appeal
- The Parade of The Damned
- Into The Valley of Finks and Weirdos
- A Pirate’s Treasure Dream
- Verne To Vader- Noteworthy Highlights Concerning The History Of Space Fiction As Represented In Popular Culture
To sum it up here’s a great quote from Schorr himself:
My childhood was spent immersed in the popular culture that millions of children were exposed to in the post war era of 1950’s America. Between watching the countless horror, sci-fi, war, cartoon, cowboy, and puppet shows that glowed from our black and white TV set, I had my collection of comic books and styrene plastic models to occupy my immature brain. My parents subscription to National Geographic magazine fueled an early passion for prehistoric man and primitive cultures.
All this under the looming threat of nuclear annihilation. I was a nervous, high-strung child and my mind was filled with a constantly shifting and swirling vortex of imagery in unnatural juxtapositions and combinations – pretty much the very definition of the word “surrealism” as stated in Webster’s Dictionary.
Like any artist of worth, it took many long years of struggle and investigative thought along with trial and error as well as constant honing of technique to reach the point where I felt I had created a language which, when spoken well, would command some semblance of purpose. I work in what is best described as a surreal style but filtered through the mind and eyes of what is, for better or worse, uniquely American.
Todd Schorr, September 2008
