February 2020
As films featuring superheroes from Marvel and DC comic books continue to dominate box offices around the world, a less-heralded group of comic characters and their artists from the countercultural Underground Comix movement of the 1960s and 1970s are still redefining graphic arts, comics, and cartoons. Robert Crumb was among the most famous and prolific artists associated with the “comix” movement—satirical, self-published, and focused on content forbidden by the mainstream Comics Code Authority—with his role as a founder of Zap Comix; creator of counterculture characters in comic strips including Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, and Keep on Truckin'; and illustrator of album covers, most notably Cheap Thrills by Big Brother and the Holding Company, whose lead singer was Janis Joplin, and The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead. An exhibition titled R. Crumb: Drawings, Prints & Books is on display at The Contemporary Art Galleries, located in the Art Building, through March 6. The works by Robert Crumb are from the collection of Dale AJ Rose, professor emeritus of acting, and the director of performance training and associate artistic director for the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, who has collected Crumb’s art for more than 50 years.