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Toxic Toons
Cobwebs and Vinegar (2003)
The Art Of Eric Pigors
BUY
TOXIC TOONS AT THE OFFICIAL SITE!
Reviewed By Dead Kev
You may be asking yourself, what exactly is a Toxic Toon? That's
a reasonable question, and one that artist Eric Pigor has anticipated
and therefore, has an answer. A Toxic Toon is: A cartoon character
described as a nutty-scabbed-chicken-poxed-lilly-livered-stiched-up-bone-poppin-goofball
with some sort of diabolical disturbing dilemma in store. Any
more questions?
That definition should give you some idea of what's in store
for you when you delve into the art, and mind, of Eric Pigors.
It's not pretty. I've gone to that place...and come back alive,
but I'm not the same man that I was before I gazed upon Toxic
Toons: Cobwebs & Vinegar. This, his second book of art,
is a collection of some of his early work and a lot of his newest.
Disclaimer: Dead Kev is no art critic, nor does he pretend to
be (although he does pretend to be a movie/book/everything else
critic). The extent of Dead Kev's artistic ability is a bunch
of stick figures gettin' it on...which looks very much like
a bunch of indistinguishable lines stuck together. After viewing
the artwork of Eric Pigors, Dead Kev also now speaks in the
third person.
I'll just come out and say it, this stuff is whack. I don't
know where Pigors comes up with this stuff, and frankly, I don't
want to know. If you asked him how it came to be that he transformed
into the insane (and frighteningly ugly) "Uncle Pigors",
may tell you the following tale:
"When I was in kindergarten, we went
on a field trip to Uncle Piggy's Slaughterhouse where I was
bit by a 313 lb. rabid pig!!! After many tetanus shots I had
to stay at home and rest. To pass the time my mom gave me a
Casper coloring book and some crayons."
It's very difficult to describe Toxic Toons, it's art
that you really have to see for yourself, because an explanation
just won't suffice. Toxic Toons are, for the most part, foul
creatures that are amalgamations of flesh, bone, inanimate objects,
and whatever nasty skin disease he decides to grace them with.
His pallette include boils, puss-filled pimples, malformed arms
& legs, warts...and that's just the first few pages.
While the Toxic Toon creatures may ellicit a chuckle, disgust
you, or threaten your sanity, they're not meant to be scary.
Pigors keeps most of them very cartoonish and injects some type
of light-hearted humor onto almost every page. Case in point
is his ad for a great kids toy, Mugco's grossest product, "Rotting
Corpse". According to the ad, pull the string and it says
such catch phrases as, "I have ringworms, let's play"
and "Who needs ice cream when you have leaky blisters."
I think I'll take ice cream.
It's obvious that Ed Roth's famous Rat Fink was an inspiration,
and Pigors sneaks in a few pieces of art in the Rat Fink mold
as an homage of sorts, and those are some of my favorites in
the book. His Finkish "Reeki Tiki" is a green monster
driving a piece of totem pole, with fire in the tailpipe, hand
on the gearshift, tongue hanging out, attracting flies, and
leaving smoke in his wake. Along with those, I'm also a big
fan of the disturbingly sexy vampire chick that graces a few
pages. If none of that is your bag, though, there's a piece
entitled "The Sad Truth of Stinky Fecal". It can be
best described as...on second thought, it's best not described
at all.
Among the some 100 pages of artwork, you can find a few photo
collages where Pigors uses real pictures of real meat products
in ways that should never see their way out of his warped mind.
Myself, I dig the straight artwork more, but it does show an
extension of his artistic ability. If, after reading this far,
you're having a hard time gauging my overall impression of the
book, you're not alone. So am I...it's hard to put into words
how I feel about Cobwebs & Vinegar. I think that
everybody's own opinion of it could vary wildly, but for me
personally, it's a stew of sorts. It's got some really tender
meat to it, but it's also got some odd vegetable thingies in
it that I'm afraid to eat. Really afraid.
| DEAD KEV'S ADVICE |
| If you're into really oddball art, this book's for you.
If you're into more traditional styles of artwork, you'll
probably find it a mixed bag. Either way, it's fine hardcover
presentation will make for an interesting conversation
piece on your coffee table or a nice addition to your
bookshelf. |
| FAVORITE QUOTES |
- "Yaagh! I got the mealy-mouthed meshugener!"
- "Let's go to grandma's and see who smells worse."
- "Wanna see my meatheads?" |
| PUBLISHER |
| Eric Pigors |
| June 2003 |
| ISBN: 0971911800 |
| FORMAT |
| Hardcover |
| 100 Pages |
| Dimensions (inches): 10.5 x 10.5 |
| Interior: Full Color |
| Cover Price: US $24.95 / Canada $29.95 |
REVIEW THE BOOK YOURSELF ON THE MESSAGE BOARD!
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