My whole life is online. Like any Gen-Z, I was exposed to the internet at a very young age. I had my first phone at six years old and then my first iPhone at nine. A smartphone let me have unrestricted access to everything the internet had to offer. Probably not a great idea in retrospect.
Besides the darker things that the internet obviously has to offer, I think the internet plays a fundamental role in art. Artists have been able to create jobs and promote their art on the Internet. Without it, we could never see so many great pieces that we have come to love. (You also couldn’t see this newsletter.)
Now I’m going to tell you the story of how the internet ruined the beloved character, Garfield.
What Garfield has become on the internet is nowhere near the original of a fat, relatable, nihilistic orange cat. Created in 1978, by artist Jim Davis, and has published a comic every single day.
Have you ever seen the rules of the internet? Out of the 77 rules, I find some that apply to the fandom of Garfield.
Rule 42: Nothing is Sacred.
Rule 43: The more beautiful and pure a thing is — the more satisfying it is to corrupt it.
Rule 66: Everything has a fandom, everything.
Rule 67: 90% of fan fiction is the stuff of nightmares.
Garfield has an estimated audience in the 100s of millions. NYT had to change how its best-seller list was categorized after 7 of its 10 slots were taken up by Garfield. The estimated merchandise and sales of Garfield are at an estimated $800,000,000 to one billion dollars EVERY YEAR.
Garfield is much bigger than I ever imagined.
Garfield was strangely a huge part of my childhood. And I didn’t realize how common this was, Of course, such a lovable and immensely popular character became a source of infatuation for many online.
This art is a whole genre of art in itself. I’m calling it Absurdist Garfield. Absurdist art is based on the theory that existence, in general, is absurd, meaning that the world lacks meaning or a higher purpose and is not fully intelligible by reason. Many of these Garfield spin-offs embrace this absurdist theory. They embrace body horror and existential horror.
There is no one creator of the Absurdist Garfield genre, but like any movement, there are key artists.
The fan comic Garfield minus Garfield starts us off with mild existential dread. When Garfield is revived from his comic, what is left? In many of these comics, we see the depressing life of Jon Arbuckle.
The comics are silent and eerie It’s strange and somewhat off-putting, but nowhere near how far the absurdist Garfield genre goes.
Six years ago the youtube channel lasagna cat created what I consider to be one of the strangest videos on the platform. In a video called “Sex Survey Results.”
Surprisingly I draw strings to Lynn Hershman Leeson’s “Lorna”. Leeson’s eerie and strange interactive videos take us through familiar landscapes so that we become comfortable with our familiarity. “Sex Survey Results,” repeats the same motion again and again. Someone knocks, the door is opened by Jon, Odie, or Garfield, and a mannequin says their name and their body count. We repeat this for an excruciating 4 hours 33 minutes and 50 seconds until something breaks the fold.
In “Lorna”, the storyline is what creates absurdity. In “Sex Survey Results,” the repeated motion is what creates it.
I encourage you to watch the last 17 minutes of “Sex Survey Results”. So that you can see what breaks the fold. Warning! NSFW
This is a story about art can change, and how art can stray entirely from the artist’s original concept. How art becomes twisted but reclaimed into the hands of another.
Artists have made Garfield into their muse. Garfemon is a collection of Garfield redrawn as every single Pokemon. A heart-touching realistic Garfield drawing, and the cutest Garfield I have ever seen. But what I’m interested in is horror.
r/ImSorryJohn dedicates itself to showcasing the world’s stranger horror art, all related to Garfield. Each art piece made has influenced this idea of Garfield being a cosmic horrifying being.
Garfield is a monster that torments Jon. I find that the fandom has embraced the mindset that even the creator has stated.
“After all of these years, I’ve created some kind of monster,” - Jim Davis
The details in these art pieces show the dedication of these creators.
The beautiful thing about horror in art is that it lets us externalize the things that haunt us. Artists have been doing it for years. Putting your fears onto a canvas so that we may no longer feel alone. Goya’s dark series was never meant to be seen, like a private diary made to release his emotions. I use this example specifically because of this creation.
Have you ever heard the saying “Nothing in art is original.”? Well, I propose a change of “Everything in art is inspired.” This genre is undeniably unique but almost acts as a collage of different inspirations drawn from everywhere. Art evolves art creates new movements, and art will always inspire more art. And maybe soon will see the next step into Garfield's Absurdism.
Extra! Extra!
An awesome horror video game inspired Garfield video.
Garfield count: 30
To give you a better, in-depth analysis of weird art I’ve decided to make uploads every other week. Thank you for your support, the growth of this page has been crazy!
One of your best yet!
I like "Together Again"
https://www.google.com/search?q=together+again+garfield&oq=together+again+garfield&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDUwOTVqMGoxqAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:08f17cd3,vid:pcbm28kNIAM,st:0