54th Carnegie International

Robert Crumb. 2004. Carnegie International. Poster. 22 x 17 inches.

Crumb did the exhibition poster and and had a small retrospective of drawings, strips, and notebooks. The depressing machine people descend from Crumb's 1975 Snarf cover of a happy guy with a self-propelled vehicle (used for the cover of Underground Classics). However unlike the optimistic Snarf cover, the world has turned sour with the machine people vomiting from pollution. The irony of the drawing could not have been lost on the exhibit organizers. Here Crumb pokes fun at steel magnate Andrew Carnegie who the museum is named after, inferring that the hellish scene is a result of the environmentally destructive policies of big business. According to the Crumb Print site, there were 100 copies of this poster made. The drawing is also reminiscent of a sketchbook drawing dated 11 Nov. 2001 entitled "Draw Thru The Pain" that appeared on p. 27 of Mineshaft, #10, January 2003 as well as "We're Lost!" on p. 68 of the Whole Earth Review, #10, Summer 1993.

ARTnews

In addition to the cover (Self-Portrait with Third Eye, 2001) also has an article: Holmes, Pernilla. 2004. "A Funny Thing Happened to Robert Crumb." ARTnews, September.

Mary Fleener

Mary Fleener. 2003. Joni Mitchell. Ink on paper. 15 x 11 inches. Signed "FLEENER°03" lower left. © Mary Fleener. Illustration used in Kristine McKenna. 2004. Talk to Her. Fantagraphics. ISBN-10: 1560975709

Mary Fleener, like Crumb, is a cartoonist. Some of their work appears in the same magazines (e.g., Mineshaft). Fleener also reviewed Aline-Kominsky Crumb's Need More Love. The illustration of Joni Mitchell was used in a book of interviews of artists by an LA-based journalist. Mitchell's song "Big Yellow Taxi" music was used in an unofficial YouTube video of Crumb's "Short History of America".

Yeah, but is it ART?

Robert Crumb. 2004. Yeah but is it ART? [Cover].

In Alfred M. Fischer (editor). 2004. Yeah but is it ART? Museum Ludwig. ISBN: 3883757950

The book accompanying the Crumb exhibit at the Museum Ludwig, Cologne from 28 May to 12 September 2004.

God Wants Me to Draw

Robert Crumb. 2003. God Wants Me to Draw. Ink and correction fluid on paper, 10 3/8 x 12 inches. Collection of Museum of Modern Art, New York.

This piece acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York is a sign that Crumb is increasingly accepted as a "legitimate" by the "official" art world. Here is the link to the MOMA catalog for the piece.

The Muse

Robert Crumb. 2003. "The Muse." The New York Times Magazine. 30 March 2003.

A six page spread in The New York Times Magazine of drawings by Crumb of wife Aline modeling dresses by high-end designers. Shows that Crumb can even depict the world of fashion in a refreshing way compared to polished, glossy photo ads. He even designed a T-shirt for designer Stella McCartney (see the Life magazine photo of Mr. & Mrs. Crumb all dressed up at the launch). Another fashion link is an art newspaper issue dedicated to Crumb published by French designer agnès b.

Mineshaft

Robert Crumb. 2003? "Billy the Kid" cover for Mineshaft. January 2003. # 10. First printing. 56 pages. Printed on Strathmore Bordeaux purple cover paper.

A lovely drawing of Billy the Kid typical of Crumb's pictures of folkloric figures. The cover stock is untypical: a kind of silver etching on beautiful hard purple paper. Produced for a small journal for which Crumb has contributed several other covers and articles over the years.