R Crumb at UCLA

[essentialsaltes]

R Crumb speaks at Royce Hall on Oct. 29th.
There will also be an exhibit at the Armand Hammer Museum associated with the release of his graphic novel adaptation of the Book of Genesis: “The Bible Illuminated: R. Crumb’s Book of Genesis” from Oct. 24–Feb. 7.

And if you don't know or don't care who he is, I still encourage you to see the amazing 1994 documentary Crumb.

Comments

[gotham-bound.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity, what do you like about Crumb?

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

I can't really say I'm even a fan exactly, but he's an icon of a weird strain of the counterculture and individualism that I can admire in a way.

[aaronjv.livejournal.com]

The part where his brother swallowed 100 yards of cloth to clean his guts.

The sad realization that Robert is the most "normal" one in the family.

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

Oh shoot, Aaron's comment made me realize you may have been asking about the film rather than the man. The docu not only gives you a good background on an interesting subject, but also explores the interplay between insanity and genius. It goes above and beyond the call of duty, as all great documentaries do.

[gotham-bound.livejournal.com]

Ah, no, I was asking about your thoughts on Crumb-the-man and his works. Though that's a good review. The documentary is on my Netflix queue and now I'm looking forward to it (though it'll take me a while to get to it).

I'm intrigued by some of his work, especially the straight, non-cartoony stuff because he can have such a steady, thoughtful approach. But he's more known for outrageous caricature that tends to cause a ruckus as it offends nearly everyone. So i wanted your thoughts.

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

Speaking of insanity and genius, my choice of icon is not random... You can read Crumb's 8 page not-so-cartoony The Religious Experience of Philip K. Dick online.

[gotham-bound.livejournal.com]

Oh I'm well aware, and I've read the Crumb rendition of PKD's experiences. That and Crumb's excellent retelling of a blues man's life, death & resurrection keep me from completely writing off Crumb as totally not worth my time.

And one of these days I will get off my lazy ass and travel the five-odd miles to Dick's old residences in Fullerton for a little photo hunt of mundane weirdness.

I wrote more extensive thoughts on R.Crumb here based on his work on display at a MOCA exhibit of comics in 2006.

[essentialsaltes.livejournal.com]

Wow, you're definitely the expert, then.