Kunstler digs Crumb..."Robert Crumb's View of America"

[KoKo]

http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2009/08/kunstler-digs-crumb.html

Kunstler digs Crumb
POSTED: 8/01/2009 EDITOR: Juan Wilson
SUBHEAD: The artwork of Robert Crumb meets the podcasts of James Kunstler



By Juan Wilson on 1 August 2009 -

For forty years I've been a fan of Robert Crumb's cartoons. From the first edition of ZAP comics I was a believer. Over the years we have done a few articles on his art. One focussed on a New Yorker Magazine cover from November 29th, 2009 with the subject of Thanksgiving. Crumb illustrated a native American (Manhattan tribe) reduced to holding a sandwich-board sign in the mid-town crunch of pedestrians that advertises turkey specials from the "Country Kitchen"

image above: Detail of New Yorker cover by R. Crumb. Click to see full cover.
From http://www.islandbreath.org/2004Year/13-justice/justice06CrumbSpecial.html

Besides his cartoons and cover art Crumb has managed to create card decks featuring obscure blues and country music artists inspired by his 78rpm record collection and 3D statuettes of his drawn characters.

He has also done illustrations showing the past and future of America. As an architect and planner these fascinate me. I first saw his animated GIF file on the internet titled "A Short History of America" (see below).


My daughter later gave me a large color poster with the twelve panels of that history. It now sits in the office of a non-profit arts council in a RustBelt city south of Buffalo. That image is still available as a print from http://www.crumbproducts.com/prints.html.

After looking at this poster for a while I realized that the series is likely in ten year increments, starting from 1860 and passing, by decades, to 1970. I am not sure what the date of the original artwork was.


image above: "A Short History of America" poster.
From http://www.islandbreath.org/2007Year/06-economy/0706-04GrowthMeasure.html

Larger scale images of this series is available from The Guardian at this website, http://arts.guardian.co.uk/crumb/images/0,15830,1430855,00.html

Note that this appears to be an illustration of the same intersection. Now the fastfood joint appears to be drive-thru only. In the foreground we see an obese customer riding away on what appears to be an electric wheelchair. In the distance is a Galleria mall and parking structure that is partially obscured by an interstate overpass where train tracks onceoperated.

After studying the artwork decided it could only have been done by Ken Avidor, of Roadkill Bill fame (http://www.roadkillbill.com/Ken.html). I called Jim Kunslter and confirmed Ken as the source and that the image was acquired through Jim's podcast partner Duncan Crary. THank you Ken, Duncan and Jim for filling in this blank panel in the history of America.



image above: R. Crumb's worst case future we nominate for panel 16 (2010)



image above: R. Crumb's best case future we nominate for panel 17 (2020)

Well, at least we can hope.

[Canuckistanian]

1. Thanks! I love Crumb.

And I love how the penultimate frame shows the setting sun and the last shows twilight.

[tridim]

2. I love him too, but I have to admit the movie Crumb freaked me out.

[KoKo]

3. I'm glad I didn't see the movie...I like this panel of his much, though...

better I don't get my view of him spoiled....shiver.

[tridim]

7. It is a really good movie, I wouldn't rule out seeing it based on my comment

[charlie]

4. Yeah

Discovering he was the (relatively) SANE one in the family wasn't something I expected.

[Gabi Hayes]

5. his brothers were something else, yes? and AFA 'sane', how bout

Picasso?

Mozart?

Beethoven?

Proust?

Wagner?

Michaelangelo?

van Gogh?

the Hoff?

[KoKo]

18. lol's...some of us DU'ers think that "WE" are the only sane ones in our family...

maybe there's some reasoning there that makes sense. :eyes:

[Expedite Trucker]

14. Yeah Crumb is Great!

[Expedite Trucker]

15. Yeah Crumb is Great!

[Expedite Trucker]

16. Yeah Crumb is Great!

[Expedite Trucker]

Yeah Crumb is Great!

[Expedite Trucker]

17. Yeah Crumb is Great!

[Canuckistanian]

66. You can say that again

And again and again.

[alfredo]

27. One of my friends was featured in one of his comix She was the Jeanie in

"Detroit Comix Featuring Jeanie." She was raised in Woodstock Ny, knew all the early hipsters, and remember as a kid sitting on Timothy Leary's lap.

[Gabi Hayes]

63. nice gallery, btw. as I mentioned to Brother Buzz, if you haven't put down

memories from back in the day, have you given it any thought?

[alfredo]

65. Some of it was illegal. Some still classified AFAIK. Some I don't want to

talk about.

thanks. I have a new camera so I've been putting it through its paces.

[Gabi Hayes]

6. heh...."When I was four, I knew I was weird." Interview w/Crumb

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2005/mar/07/robertcrumb.comics

from the intro:

''In the 1990s he became famous for a second time when the director Terry Zwigoff made a documentary about his life, Crumb. The film put Crumb's life in context - yes, his foot fetish, his piggyback fixations and his urge to dominate big, dominant women (in a pretty submissive way) were weird, but not half as weird as those of his two brothers. The Crumbs must surely rank among the strangest families ever committed to celluloid. The film showed Crumb and his wife Aline, also a cartoonist and artist, preparing to leave America for France. He seemed to be dogged by fame and despair about modern America, and Aline was determined to drag him somewhere he would find it easier to live a reclusive life. The strangest thing was that he had agreed to the film in the first place, but then again Zwigoff was a friend and Crumb never expected a little movie about himself to be an international success.''

[charlie]

9. He's been illustrating the Book of Genesis the past couple of years

Yeah, that one, from da Bible. Without changing or editing the text.

When he's done, the fundies are gonna shit.

[Gabi Hayes]

13. awesome! hope he doesn't croak it before he finishes. have you ever

seen Ralph Steadman's Alice in Wonderland?

[charlie]

19. Eeps, no

I didn't know he'd done it. I'm trying to imagine his splattershot dementia in an already phantasmagorical tale... must be pretty twisted.

[Gabi Hayes]

22. somebody stole my copy. haven't seen it for decades, but check this:

[charlie]

24. Well, there it is

And somewhere in there Onan is dumping his spooge on the floor. And Lot's daughters are mounting their drunken dad. In lurid cross-hatched detail, no doubt.

Yep. The fundies are gonna shit. Too bad, it's only their "holy" fucking stories, faithfully rendered. Sucks to be them.

[Gabi Hayes]

25. you can pre-order at Amazon, according to the link.

might he give South Park a little competition in dealing with Satanic imagery

can't wait to see what he does with the temptation stuff

and Mary Magdalene?

could be the first time I read more than a few graphs of the bible

[Gabi Hayes]

64. well, heh, looks like I was a little confused with my testaments last night.

maybe he'd consider MMLJ in the not too distant future.

or maybe one of the lost gospels.....Judas?

[Canuckistanian]

67. Whenever I think about Crumb, I also think of Harvey Pekar

"American Splendor" is one of my favorite movies.

I've never seen "Crumb", but it on my list. I've read Robert's extended diaries/comix from his time in California.

Crumb's life and work are some things I intend to study in more detail.

[Gabi Hayes]

68. Harvey and Robert, in a takeoff of "My Dinner with Andre?"

have they ever met?

I'd pay big bucks to see that

[Canuckistanian]

70. They knew each other in Cleveland

In fact, the story goes that Pekar encouraged Crumb to publish the "Big Yum Yum" book.

And of course, Crumb was the one who first translated Pekar's "stickman drawing" stories into real comic book form.

[Gabi Hayes]

71. do I remember something along those lines from the movie?

sounds familiar, but I only saw it once.

had a little problem with the lack of physical resemblance between Giamatti and Pekar, but I agree that it was an exellent representation of Pekar's life

really liked the scenes on his Letterman appearances, many of which I saw 'live'

[Canuckistanian]

72. Yeah, it's all in the movie

But I remember a few details from Crumb's anthology book. He and Pekar were pretty good friends for a while.

[GReedDiamond]

8. K & R for Crumb the Great...nt

[madrchsod]

10. weird sex fantasies with the behind in mind....

crumb is the man....

[KoKo]

20. Oh STOP....I'm focused on his "Panel about America" not his sex fantasies....

Sometimes we have to separate the person from their life...to see some genius that was a gift and maybe the demons that drive the genius are stuff that many of us might want to put in a box somewhere so they don't taint the product of the talent.

I know it's good to see the "whole picture of the person...demons and all...some say." But, sheesh...there some stuff that just is a distraction and get's us off into kinky corridors of a mind that dilute and distract from some of the work that relates to us all.

Whatever..

[Gabi Hayes]

21. so...how much junk in the trunk?

[KoKo]

23. It's pretty witty...sad commentary...but then he saw stuff we are

only now understanding...Reminds me of Reality TV Shows and the rest of the crap out there. That was his point, perhaps?

[Gabi Hayes]

26. wonder how he'd have seen things back in Bosch's day.

ever read Leap, by Terry Tempest Williams?

[KoKo]

28. I do wonder how he'd have seen things back in

Bosch's day.

I haven't read "Leap." Will check it out.

[KoKo]

30. His record Jackets are my favorites...Harmonica Man is special to me...

for the cover. Reminds me of happy innocence...just lovin' life for what it is as one goes down the corn row playing a tune and just into oneself. "the yellow brick road" maybe?

Harmonica Blues..Album Cover

[charlie]

35. Here's a happy one

that just glows with a creepy absurdity. Marvelous.

[KoKo]

37. That could be a poster for new emphasis on "eating fit" ....lol's

:D

[Gabi Hayes]

38. ''..... it takes a pink burrito, for to keep me clean.''

the vinyl is translucent red/orange, IIRC. definitely translucent

[Brother Buzz]

54. Get A load of This

definitely translucent

Get A load of This

My girlfriend's over but I sent her away
'cause she almost knocked the supper off my TV tray
Bring a loada'
RC Cola
TV Dinner
A plate of Twinkies
It takes a pink burrito
For to keep me clean
(For to keep me clean)

TV dinner is the meal that I'm lovin'
Take off the foil, 30 minutes in the oven
Bring a loada'
RC Cola
TV Dinner
A plate of Twinkies
It takes a pink burrito
For to keep me clean
(For to keep me clean)


Don't like no carrots, can't stand no peas
But a pack of Dong Dongs bring me down to my knees
Bring a loada'
RC Cola
TV Dinner
A plate of Twinkies
It takes a pink burrito
For to keep me clean
(For to keep me clean)

Girlfriend's switchin' like no other
Let's me spend all day in from of that 24-inch color
Brings a loada'
RC Cola
TV Dinner
A plate of Twinkies
It takes a pink burrito
For to keep me clean
(For to keep me clean)

Only one think makes me jump up and holler
TV breaks down during Bowling for dollars
Get a loada'
RC Cola
TV Dinner
A plate of Twinkies
It takes a pink burrito
For to keep me clean
(For to keep me clean)

(Oh yeah)
(That's right)

[Gabi Hayes]

55. dig this, brother!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV6EaqS1F2I

I have the only comments

[Brother Buzz]

60. Cool!

That's Robert Armstrong singing. He and Dodge wrote the song. Bob told me the story behind the pink burrito. The pink burrito used to be red before the sign faded, a sign advertising a frozen infrared heated fast food burritos (years before microwaves). Red's burritos?

I can only imagine Al and Bob sitting in a car staring at the sign, and when the discussion digressed to colonic hygiene comments the hook to the song was created, "It takes a pink burrito for to keep me clean".

[Gabi Hayes]

62. sounds like you should be keeping a record of stories like that. doing any

writing, recording, that sort of thing

I love reading about those people, those times.

40 years since Woodstock!

[Brother Buzz]

56. A study of his record jackets (CD's too) is an education in eclectic music

http://web.comhem.se/~u87009324/crumbrecords.html

[charlie]

31. No access to Rapidographs would've driven him mad

:D

In the film, Robert Hughes calls him the Breughel of our day. Now that you mention it though, Bosch seems more fitting. It's a wonder he got away with that stuff without being racked or burned.

[Gabi Hayes]

32. man I don't remember that at all, re: Hughes. you're right about Breughel, though.

when I was in school, the Champaign library had framed copies of lots of paintings, and I had one of Breughel's village scenes.

something along these lines, but more 'festive,' more partydown

[KoKo]

34. OMG.....I had forgotten Breughel's detail...

I saw some of his stuff in an exhibit in Philly, I think...many years ago. Maybe Crumb is a combination of Breughel and Bosch reincarnated. I guess we need artists with that perspective to come along every 75-100 years are so. Just to point to the madness and absurdity...

[Gabi Hayes]

36. heh....I think Bosch just had more rotten rye bread than Breughel.

not a whole lot more, mind you:



you really have to read Leap. she spent over a year in the Prado, just sitting there, looking at the Garden of Delights, fairly frequently 'hallucinating' herself into the painting

she also did a 'taxonomy' of all the flora and fauna, sort of Annie Dillard goes to hell

to top it off, she was raised a Mormon, and brought all that insane sexual baggage along. could be my favorite book, after The Very Hungry Caterpillar

[KoKo]

39. well...you gotta admit...they are "purtier" to look at than many of Crumbs

more agressive work. :eyes: Although the message is pretty much the same.... WHAT ARE they trying to TELL US....those geniuses who come along. Not everyone's taste...but shake things up.

[Gabi Hayes]

40. ouch...head hurt. too much think

best artist shout out inner pain, not care what others say

anyway, dunno what they're trying to tell us, but the 'best' stuff stands the test of time, is about all I can come up with (course, who knows what's been lost over the ages, etc.)

which leaves open the question, 'who decides?': Glenn Gould said that petula clark would be remembered as a greater artist than the Beatles, so who's to say

speaking of interesting movies, ever see the one about him?

[KoKo]

43. A movie about Glenn Gould...

I don't know who he is. I live a very sheltered life...truly. But, I do know who Petula Clark was.

"DOWNTOWN!"

I wasn't a big Beatles fan...which I'm always embarrassed to admit. Some of John Lennon's work, I like...a few of their songs. I'm more soul and pop....and some blues.

[KoKo]

44. You mean this Glenn Gould?

With Bernstein?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVODxskoHFQ

[Gabi Hayes]

47. wow!!!!

should have thought of that...

thanks!

he did a Rolling Stone interview in the early seventies.....wonder if it's online. I'm pretty sure that's where he talked about Clark/Beatles

I like Beatlemusic more now than I did back in the day

now I have to go see what other GG is at youtube

thx again!

one of the cool things he does (and you can hear it on some records) is sorta sing/vocalize along with his playing, like Keith Jarrett does.

[Gabi Hayes]

45. one of the greatest classical pianists of his day. very eccentric. didn't like to perform live.

Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould is an award-winning 1993 film about the piano prodigy Glenn Gould played by Colm Feore. The film's screenplay was witten by François Girard (who also directed) and Don McKellar.

The film does not present a single narrative, rather a series of thirty-two short films. These include documentaries (five interviews with people who knew him), re-creations of scenes from Gould's life, and various odd items (such as "Gould Meets McLaren", in which animated spheres reminiscent of those in Norman McLaren's animations move to Gould's music). The segments range in length from six minutes to less than one minute. The form is inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations, which was Gould's first acclaimed recording.

According to Girard: "As Gould was such a complex character, the biggest problem was to find a way to look at his work and deal with his visions. The film is built of fragments, each one trying to capture an aspect of Gould. There is no way of putting Gould in one box. The film gives the viewer 32 impressions of him. I didn't want to reduce him to one dimension."

The soundtrack consists almost entirely of piano recordings by Gould. It includes pieces famously linked with him, such as Bach's Goldberg Variations, and the Well-Tempered Clavier, as well as others which are less so.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Two_Short_Films_About_Glenn_Gould

[KoKo]

48. That looks interesting...always on lookout for something new.

Thanks for the link. I'll check my Netflix to see if they have it.

[Gabi Hayes]

50. you should be able to get it free from your library. they can get it via interlibrary loan

if they don't have it

I never rent stuff, and see whatever I want that way

course, that depends on where you live these days, with all the cutbacks, etc

[Gabi Hayes]

51. clips from the movie, and an entire bio that's supposedly better:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=glenn+gould+32+short+films&search_type=&aq=0&oq=Glenn+Gould++32+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWU_mC_dnxw&feature=related
this one is like 12 parts, and not available anywhere else, I think

start here, if you're really interested


amazing stuff

who needs frickin POLitics?

[charlie]

46. Paul McCartney said the Hudson Bros would be bigger than the Beatles

To put a point on your point. Who decides? Who knows, but be glad it ain't Macca.

[Gabi Hayes]

49. are you serious? haaaaaaaa

to your point, I just saw "the seventh python", about Neil Innes. one of the producers was a Hudson brother!

afa as who decides, the only important thing about that is that the sublime doesn't get obscured by the ridiculous, as seems to be more and more the case

course Euripides was probably saying the same thing to Aeschylus

or the Hoff to Pam

[charlie]

52. Bonzo Dog Doodah Band!

Okay, now I'm veering off into all kinds of obscure effluvia. Best to stop before I wind up playing 6 Degrees of Everybody.

Yep, McCartney had a daft moment of unbridled enthusiasm. Just another instance where we all thought, man, you and John really are lost without each other.

[Gabi Hayes]

53. adolph hitler, looking very relaxed on vibes.....

brave, brave, brave, brave, brave.....sir robin

that would be he

couldn't believe it was the Hudson brother (I think the one married to Goldie)

[Superfly007]

57. Hudson Bros.

They did have a great cartoon.

[Gabi Hayes]

11. just reserved this from my library:

http://contentcafe2.btol.com/ContentCafe/Jacket.aspx?UserID=AHL37985&Password=CC18954&Return=1&Type=L&Value=1840727160&erroroverride=1

[alfredo]

29. Looking for a Detroit Comix Featuring Jeanie, or just a scan of Jeanie.

She's an old friend I've lost contact with. Most of my friends from that era are either dead, in prison, or disappeared. She's one of the disappeared, I believe to an artist community in the South West. I saw her image in the Vol 6 of his sketch book.

She explained to me that Crumb draws a person's essence, not their physical self. He really nailed her.

[mitchtv]

12. A big fan

I was lucky enough to meet him in the Haight in the late 60's

[David Zephyr]

33. Thanks for bringing this here. I would have missed it.

Thanks.

[KoKo]

41. Here's link to Crumb Museum...with some of his stuff...Jacket Covers

are my faves...particularly the blues. There's other stuff there...a little ott for me...but still interesting the way he looks at life...things many of us wouldn't see...that he sees and shakes things up in crazy, interesting ways.

http://www.zubeworld.com/crumbmuseum/crumb1.html

[Gabi Hayes]

42. East wing?

I feel like such an ottball

[Gabi Hayes]

58. moving right along, wonder if he's seen this performer over there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PSuzsq7WJQ&feature=related

makes me cry...not the best version, but the only live one I could find

sigh...

[Gabi Hayes]

59. omfg....live, from the best soundtrack ever

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uQNkFmgyzI

[Heidi]

61. Recommended.

Crumb kick!

:kick:

[KoKo]

69. John Hughes has DIED...seems sort of a fitting thing with this...

:-(

[Gabi Hayes]

73. Farmer Ted; King of the Dipshits

you say it's your birthday

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRSNy5Gjgzk&NR=1

[Gabi Hayes]

74. just got the handbook, and right up front are the View of America panels. also:

there's a CD with about 20 songs on it, including cheap suit stuff, and other songs recorded in france
time for a crumb break....

[redqueen]

76. Thanks for kicking this fantastic thread...

I'd have missed it, otherwise.

:)

[Gabi Hayes]

77. sure....listening to the CD the handbook contains. put it on ITunes, and am going

to burn a CD for the car

I think I might try to kick this every day for awhile, as it helps calm me down a bit

uh oh...we're about to lose our electricity.....

[Echo In Light]

75. The doc film Zwigoff did is amazing. Thanks for posting

[Gabi Hayes]

78. cd is excellent, including the french stuff