Gallery of
the Absurd
A Collection of Culturally
Irreverent Cartoons
Gallery of the Absurd
Cartoons by Robert J. Aragon
Gallery of the Absurd is the inaugural volume in a series of single-panel cartoon collections that re-imagine the world’s great artists, writers, and thinkers with wit, irreverence, and a sly sense of cultural play.
The collection contains 50 black-and-white cartoons, each one a stand-alone panel that places revered masterpieces and intellectual icons into unexpected, often absurd situations. The humor arises not from mockery but from the delight of seeing the familiar through a fresh, sideways lens—where even the most sacrosanct figures of art, literature, and philosophy prove ripe for parody.
What the Collection Includes
• Art Masterpieces Re-imagined
From Rembrandt’s Night Watch to Hopper’s Nighthawks, from Klimt’s The Kiss to Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, canonical works are re-cast in scenarios that highlight their hidden absurdities. A painting we thought we knew becomes the setup for a sly one-liner.
• Philosophers and Poets with a Twist
Nietzsche, Descartes, Emily Dickinson, and Dylan Thomas all appear—not in dusty textbooks, but in situations that play on their quirks, contradictions, and legacies. Their reputations are both celebrated and skewered, often in the same frame.
• Literary and Cultural Mash-ups
Figures as different as Hamlet, Martin Luther, and Andy Warhol show up, not as solemn icons but as characters in miniature comedies. Their gravitas collides with the trivial, the absurd, or the uncomfortably modern.
• Unexpected Guests
Even dogs, troglodytes, and burghers wander through, embodying the cartoonist’s belief that no boundary between high art and low humor should be left intact.
Tone and Intent
While the humor is sharp, the intent is celebratory. These cartoons are made for the museum visitor—cultured, curious, and appreciative of the arts—who enjoys seeing how even the grandest masterpieces gain new vitality when re-imagined through parody.
Format and Presentation
• 50 single-panel cartoons
• 8″ × 8″ softcover book
• Premium matte-laminated cover, printed on archival-quality stock
• First edition, limited run
This collection will be available exclusively through museums and select cultural venues.
