R. Crumb’s “Book of Genesis, Illustrated” will not appear in Sunday Schools, I reckon, but the honesty with which he tells this old story over again, feels like something very new. Here’s an artist, a storyteller who continues to stretch himself and bend our minds. I’m trying to deal with the images and the arresting ways he presents the story, the failings of humanity, the quarreling, and the vengeance of the god who expresses regret about making these humans and then acts upon that regret when it changes to anger. Flood. Crumb spent the last five years on this…masterpiece? I’ve never read anything like this.
crossroads and currents......by tom ryan
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Dealing with Crumb
R. Crumb’s “Book of Genesis, Illustrated” will not appear in Sunday Schools, I reckon, but the honesty with which he tells this old story over again, feels like something very new. Here’s an artist, a storyteller who continues to stretch himself and bend our minds. I’m trying to deal with the images and the arresting ways he presents the story, the failings of humanity, the quarreling, and the vengeance of the god who expresses regret about making these humans and then acts upon that regret when it changes to anger. Flood. Crumb spent the last five years on this…masterpiece? I’ve never read anything like this.
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It was interesting to see a literal translation of someone else's story by R. Crumb; I'm more accustomed to his self-effacing vignettes and short, pithy statements about humanity. I also found his Genesis illustrations to be a bit more raw than his earlier work. Not that that's a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteYou can view some of Crumb's earlier work on Robert Crumb t-shirts at http://www.kotapparel.com.
The complete Crumb Comics, Mystic Funnies, Kafka, Sketchbooks, and others are available from Fantagraphics Books, http://www.fantagraphics.com
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