The cartoons of Robert Crumb, aka R. Crumb, have ignored the lines between comics and fine art, so-called good taste and bad, and countless other binaries for more than half a century, his lurid, distinctive pen-and-ink style interpreting everything from the Book of Genesis to Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis to the likeness of Stormy Daniels. Through April 13, an exhibition at David Zwirner on West 19th Street in New York attempts to showcase the full breadth of his formidable career. Titled “Drawing for Print: Mind Fucks, Kultur Klashes, Pulp Fiction & Pulp Fact by the Illustrious R. Crumb,” it was curated by curator and critic Robert Storr. Beginning March 12, Zwirner will also present an online exhibition of pages from the artist’s sketchbooks of the ’60s, offering a rare glimpse into the development of some of his signature ideas and early characters, like Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural. Now 75, Crumb spoke to ARTnews by email about political cartoons, his love for the ukulele, and his 1986 classic, Book of Filth. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
ARTnews: I was at the preview for the Zwirner show, and Robert Storr seemed keen on emphasizing that your work shouldn’t be seen as offensive. Is this a perception that bothers you?
R. Crumb: I was very happy to listen to Robert Storr explain why my work was not, in fact, racist or misogynistic or sexist or anti-Semitic and should not be taken as such, because I have never drawn a single line meant to foster or encourage any of those attitudes. I thought he explained it as well as it can be explained, and certainly far better than I could explain it myself.
Of course, it “bothers” me that people perceive my work as racist and sexist, that they might be assuming that I’m advocating racism or sexism. I do believe that such people have an entirely mistaken notion as to what my comics are about. I feel very bad when I encounter this reaction because you know, I want everybody to love me, especially the women. Instead, I have alienated most of them with my vulgar, gross drawings. My readership is largely male.