Today, counÂterÂculÂturÂal carÂtoonÂist Robert DenÂnis Crumb, betÂter known as R. Crumb, turns 70. As a founder of the “underÂground comix” moveÂment in the 1960s, Crumb is either revered as a pioÂneerÂing satirist of AmerÂiÂcan culÂture and its excessÂes or reviled as a juveÂnile purÂveyÂor of painfulÂly outÂmodÂed sexÂist and racist stereoÂtypes. Crumb doesn’t apolÂoÂgize. He keeps workÂing, and his fans are grateÂful. He has parÂlayed his sexÂuÂal obsesÂsions and outÂsider relaÂtionÂship to black culÂture into an intriguÂing vision of the counÂtry that reflects its own fixÂaÂtions as much as those of the artist/author of comics like Zap and Weirdo.
But Crumb’s work—permeated by drug use, pop-culÂture refÂerÂences, skirt-chasÂing overÂsexed men, very specifÂiÂcalÂly-shaped (and always sexÂuÂalÂly-availÂable) women, and all sorts of creepy underÂground characters—has anothÂer side: an almost senÂtiÂmenÂtal attachÂment to purist AmerÂiÂcana from the late-nineÂteenÂth/earÂly-twenÂtiÂeth cenÂtuÂry. Most notably Crumb is an antiÂquarÂiÂan colÂlecÂtor of old-time music—country, jazz, ragÂtime, the blues—as well as a musiÂcal interÂpreter of the same. One of my favorites of his books colÂlects a series of tradÂing cards he made into R Crumb’s Heroes of Blues, Jazz & CounÂtry, a revÂerÂenÂtial set of illusÂtraÂtions of folk musiÂcians, accomÂpaÂnied by a CD of Crumb-curatÂed music.
Crumb’s love for simÂpler times is more than the pasÂsion of an afiÂcionaÂdo. It is the flip side of his satire, a genre that canÂnot flourÂish as a criÂtique of the present withÂout a corÂreÂspondÂing vision of a goldÂen age. For Crumb, that age is pre-WWII, pre-indusÂtriÂal, rural—a time, as he has put it in a recent interÂview, when “peoÂple could still express themÂselves.” His expeÂriÂence with the slop of AmerÂiÂcan popÂuÂlar culÂture was decidÂedÂly less idylÂlic. Ian BuruÂma writes in The New York Review of Books:
Crumb, like his brothÂers, soaked up the TV and comics culÂture of the 1950s: Howdy DooÂdy, DonÂald Duck, Roy Rogers, LitÂtle Lulu, and the like. While on LSD, in the 1960s, Crumb thought of his mind as “a garbage recepÂtaÂcle of mass media images and input. I spent my whole childÂhood absorbÂing so much crap that my perÂsonÂalÂiÂty and mind are satÂuÂratÂed with it. God only knows if that affects you physÂiÂcalÂly!”
Crumb’s comÂic art—which he has described in almost therÂaÂpeuÂtic terms as an empÂtyÂing of his “garbage recepÂtaÂcle” unconscious—is balÂanced by his more sober and nosÂtalÂgic illusÂtraÂtions, the counÂterÂweight to the “crap” of his childÂhood media expoÂsure. One might even think of Crumb’s conÂsumpÂtion of old-time music and imagery as a kind of culÂturÂal health food diet. One of the most popÂuÂlar of his nosÂtalÂgic works is “A Short HisÂtoÂry of AmerÂiÂca” (1979) a series of panÂels showÂing the shift from open counÂtryÂside, to the town setÂtleÂments brought by the railÂroads, to the gross overdeÂvelÂopÂment of the late-twenÂtiÂeth cenÂtuÂry. The only text besides the title (and the burÂgeonÂing billÂboards and street signs) is a coda at the botÂtom-right-hand of the last panÂel askÂing, “What next?!!!” You can see the comÂic aniÂmatÂed above (top), set to an old-time piano piece. AnothÂer fitÂting verÂsion of his vision of the country’s growth (or ruinaÂtion) is above, in colÂor, scored by Joni Mitchell’s “Big YelÂlow Taxi.” See the full series of images here and here, and be sure to check out CrumÂb’s three epiÂlogue specÂuÂlaÂtions on what’s next.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Record CovÂer Art by UnderÂground CarÂtoonÂist Robert Crumb
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness
Its amazÂing how you are ignorÂing SyrÂia, you should have some anti-war agenÂda, shame on you!
Thank you for the introÂducÂtion to Crumb. Side note: whew! 80k+ in Durham very impresÂsive.