

They'd say, "What? Are you crazy? You don't want stock options?" I said, "No, I want money!" That company went bust, but I got paid well. I refused, even though all these people, including our accountant, urged me to take the offer. A few years ago this guy wanted me to do artwork for his company and he offered to pay me in stock options.
#R crumb drawings full#
Q: What's the worst advice you've ever been given?Ī: The world is full of bad advice. Aline, on the other hand - she cries at almost every movie.

It must have been a long, long time ago because I really don't remember. Q: When was the last time a work of art made you cry?Ī: I don't cry too easily.

To avoid allowing Crumb to escape the interview to investigate more hotel room sounds, I came prepared with a pop quiz. We've lived in difficult times before, so that would be OK with me." On the other hand, if it enhances the value of our art. It seems to me that the same fuss could easily be made for an artist that I have utter contempt for and think is total nonsense. "On the other hand, I'm old enough to perceive that so much in this world is bull. "On the one hand, it's flattering," he says. What does he think about the forthcoming tribute? "In reality, his work comes out of direct contact and sets of relationships between him and Aline and his daughter, Sophie, and in some parts of the show, his relationship with San Francisco and the comic book community."īack in the New York Sheraton hotel room, Crumb gets back on the phone.

"Robert has been recast into this isolated-genius mold where he goes off on his own until the muse visits him to help him do his work," says de Guzman, who had been in contact with Crumb for a show for several years. The connection between the Crumb couple is a big focus of the show, according to René de Guzman, Yerba Buena's director of visual arts. "Some people think he's a big chauvinistic pig monster guy and I'm just a browbeaten woman living in his shadow. "The thing that bugs me sometimes is when people think that my self-image is affected by the way Robert draws these big Amazon-type women," says Aline, who first sought out Crumb after seeing a character of his that looked a little like her. Crumb book that sells, the Crumbs are living in a nice big house and are financially comfortable and quite happy, she says. They moved there about 16 years ago because "if we lived here in New York we'd be impoverished," she says.Īctually, with the "2 cents" for every R. His influence shines brightly through the works of fans, such as in Art Spiegelman's Maus as well as in that of contemporaries such as Harvey Pekar's American Splendor.Īline, 59, says she became so used to having her comic book art rejected, it got to the point where she'd rather spend her time painting or teaching yoga classes in the South of France village where the couple live. Robert, 63, became famous almost from the start for his narrative and satirical approach that could cover everything from masturbation to racial tension. To call Robert and Aline Kominsky Crumb eccentrics would be too simple a way to describe a very complicated but content couple, who met and started drawing comics together in the 1970s in San Francisco. That's why I can't wait to get to San Francisco." The only reason he's in New York City now is because it's a Valentine's Day present for me. And when he shows up to these things, it takes him a while to recover and get back to work. "He appreciates the fact that all these people love him. "Robert wears his nerves on the outside of his body," explains Crumb's wife, Aline, as they swap the Sheraton room telephone back and forth.
#R crumb drawings series#
Spanning from 1959 (his homemade comics days with his brother Charles), his late '60s Zap Comix years in San Francisco and a New York Times series from 2005, the retrospective tribute also includes sketchbooks, sculptures, posters and every random ephemera you can think of.įritz the Cat will be there. Crumb's Underground," it promises to be the most extensive collection culled from Crumb's entire comic-book art career. On Saturday, when the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts opens its exhibition "R. With that, Crumb has not only solved the mystery of the sounds coming from next door, but he's also three minutes closer to getting out of another interview.Ĭrumb is no Picasso. A shuffling of the phone is followed by an awkward pause.
