by Vivian Luu
Editor-in-Chief

After nearly 40 years, Robert “R” Crumb still manages to impress audiences with his interpretive and frequently sexually explicit cartoons. His work is currently on exhibition at the Frye Art Museum near Downtown Seattle.

Crumb’s cartoons and sketches reflect his personal experiences, growing up in the 60s and warping through numerous drunk, stoned and out-of-touch-with-reality phases

of his hippy-inspired adulthood. Several of his comics depict a disheveled young man--resembling himself--getting tempted by drug dealers off the streets. Others are more direct, with the word “stoned” stamped onto each inch of his work.

One can also observe other characters that Crumb developed over the years such as Fritz the Cat, Mr. Natural, Flakey Foont and Devil Girl. All are carefully detailed cartoons, placed in locations like the wilderness, shady bedrooms and metropolitans.

Artwork that directly connected to events in the 60s through the 90s was also on exhibition. A popular piece was Crumb’s collage of the most influential jazz musicians of his time, gleaming with color and glistening through the glossy finish that he used to preserve his more contemporary work. There was also a small cameo of Henry Kissinger, a major contributor to U.S. foreign policy in the 70s.

A motif that stood out in the exhibit was Crumb’s depiction of women, including his second wife, Aline. They were all plump, with exposed, enormous breasts and round rear ends.

Many comics discussed the roles of men and women during sexual intercourse, often slashing puns at viewers as they glaze through characters’ dialogues. Male viewers chuckled at them. Women cringed and swore.

But let us not forget the concept of artistic subtext in relation to Crumb’s underground comix. Beneath the sex and drugs, Crumb engraved a deeper, more universal message into his work: People are being manipulated by their environment. His era was engulfed with capitalist media and an intense hatred for hippies--those who, according to Crumb, just wanted to be left the hell alone to do what they wanted. He embraced this mantra and had his way with life, with art and with the world.

Crumb saw his time as a generation of decrepit, mindless robots, forging their way into a society that only cared about money and power. His art reflects these views, serving as a hard slap across the face for those who have fallen prey to such atrocities.

R. Crumb’s Underground is on exhibition at the Frye Art Museum until April 27 and is free for all to see. Visit www.freyart.org for museum hours of operation.