Crumb, he tells us that he doesnt believe that the bible is the word of god, or even inspired by god. Perhaps the strangest thing about this comic book version of the book of genesis, illustrated by r. His research and commentary at the end of the book is just as thorough, engaging and enlightening as the pages of genesis. The book of genesis, by comparison, comes across as the fruits of indentured drudgery. Far removed from the satirical reimagining some might expect from the father of underground comix, crumb s longawaited take on the first book of the bible presents the artists own sensitive, visually intense reflections. From creation to the death of joseph, here are all 50 chapters of the book of genesis, revealingly illustrated as never before. Crumbs illustrated version is as goodor bettera way to do so as.
In his thoughtful and articulate introduction to the book of genesis illustrated by r. The book of genesis illustrated biblical archaeology society. In the short video above, crumb describes the creation narrative in the ancient hebrew book as an archetypal story of our culture, such a strong story with all kinds of metaphorical meaning. Crumb s book of genesis at david zwirner gallery, new york. Natural, and was the subject of terry zwigoffs 1995 documentary, crumb. Crumbs book of genesis reintroduces us to the bountiful tree lined garden of adam and eve, the massive ark of noah with beasts of every kind, the cities of sodom and gomorrah destroyed by brimstone and fire that rained from the heavens, and the egypt of the pharaoh, where josephs embalmed body is carried in a coffin, in a scene as elegiac as any in genesis.
Crumbs book of genesis reintroduces us to the bountiful tree lined garden of adam and eve, the massive ark of noah with beasts of every kind, the cities of sodom and gomorrah destroyed by brimstone and fire that rained from the heavens, and the egypt of the pharaoh, where josephs embalmed body is carried in a coffin, in a scene as elegiac. Robert has only put on paper and illustrated each verse of genesis. The book of genesis 2009 is a comic book illustrated by american cartoonist robert crumb that purports to be a faithful, literal illustration of the book of genesis. Crumb the adult supervision recommended label on the book of genesis illustrated might be the first thing you notice about r. Crumb, the legendary illustrator, reveals here the story of genesis in a profoundly honest and moving way. Crumb illustrates the book of genesis fast company. Crumb and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Most of these notices have been positive with a number of publications affirming crumb s status as a cartooning god. However, as crumb delved deeper into the source material, he decided to adhere to the literal text to create. Crumbs book of genesis is crumbs second solo showcase at new yorks david zwirner gallery and includes a handful of pen and ink drawings taken from. Crumb s awesome, affecting take on genesis the godfather of cartoon counterculture takes on the bible in his new comic, the book of genesis illustrated. Crumb discusses his process of illustrating and satirizing the book of genesis while purporting to be a faithful.
Crumb, crumb acknowledges his awareness that the project was a potentially contentious one. Oct 08, 2016 the book of genesis is considered crumbs magnum opus and took over 4 years to complete. Crumbs newest work, an illustrated version of the book of genesis, contains a warning label. Crumb has created the most powerful set of biblical illustrations since the work of william blake. Crumb s the book of genesis illustrated kindly gave permission to share chapter 19 with our readers. Crumb, it is worth noting that he is well known as an underground artist, whose works of which fritz the cat is probably the most widely recognized feature satire and sexuality with a distinctive artistic style. Nov 20, 2009 the book of genesis illustrated by r crumb. The book of genesis as imagined by a veteran voice of underground comics. The book of genesis illustrated by r crumb books the guardian. Nominated for three 2010 will eisner comic industry awards. The man who founded zap comix in the 60s in san francisco. Unlike the mystical fervor of blakes fevered designs or the dramatic bombast of gustave dores mid19th century illustrations, crumbs drawings reflect the artists brutal honesty. Few comics in the last year have elicited as much critical attention as robert crumb s the book of genesis illustrated.
He lives in the south of france with his wife, the artist aline kominsky crumb. In the introduction to the book of genesis illustrated, r. Consistently, each illustrated panel is rendered entirely without satirical intent or comedic personal aside. A short history of america, according to the irreverent comic satirist robert crumb. The biblical book first struck crumb as something to satirize, and his.
Crumbusing the actual text word for wordhas imagined the bible as it really was. In his illustrated adaptation of the book of genesis, r. Crumb, the legendary countercultural artist of the 60s, is that is straightforward and nonironic, each part treated with equal respect and attention. In the foreword to the book he claimed it to be his most faithful visual interpretation of the book. Surprisingly, the final phase of the exhibit was all of the original drawings from crumb s the book of genesis illustrated. The book of genesis 2009 is a ic book illustrated by american cartoonist robert crumb that purports to be a faithful, literal illustration of the book of genesis. Though not a fan of organized religion himself, crumbs take on genesis was brutally faithful to its ancient predecessor and is full of comicstyled depictions. Milton tried to retell the bible and discovered that satan was a more interesting character than god, and now, three centuries later, robert crumb. Crumb, he of fritz the cat and a host of other scandalously inyourface underground comix of the 1960s and later, adopted and promoted by the counterculture and still strenuously abhorred by various segments of.
A signed and numbered limited edition, slipcased and with a signed print. Buy robert crumbs book of genesis 01 by robert crumb isbn. Crumb has spent the last five years on this incredibly ambitious endeavor. Us cartoonist robert crumb has announced the completion of his longawaited take on the book of genesis, an illustrated rendering of the first 50 chapters of the bible. Originally thinking that he would do a take off of adam and eve, crumb became fascinated by the bibles language, a text so great and so strange that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions. Oct 25, 2009 it is not in praise of the creator that r. Crumbs book of genesis the hammer museum presents seminal comic artist r. Robert crumbs book of genesis crumb, robert livres. Oct 14, 2015 in this rare look inside robert crumbs studio in the south of france, r. His hyperdetailed style is a perfect match for the translation he uses, veering between stilted and bizarre and unexpectedly beautiful sometimes both at the same time. This book is just fabulous and one of my favourites as someone who likes mythology and folk tales. Crumb writes that he approached this as a straight illustration job, with no intention to ridicule or make visual jokes.
As someone me whos been brought up soaked and washed in religious doctrine daily this book is better than bibles. Crumb embarked on his ambitious illustrated genesis, he was a pioneer of underground comic books. In october 2009 crumb released the book of genesis illustrated by r. The book of genesis 2009 is a comic book illustrated by american cartoonist robert crumb that purports to be a faithful, literal illustration of the book of. Its this very quality of straight illustration that makes the book of genesis. He created the notorious characters devil girl, fritz the cat, and mr. Crumb continued to produce original comics, either as standalone stories or as revisits to titles he had started decades earlier in 2004, issue 15 of zap was published.
Originally thinking that we would do a take off of. Crumb s pass at the opening chapters of the bible isnt nearly the act of heresy the comic artists reputation might suggest. The book of genesis illustrated by crumb, first edition. Crumb s adaptation of the first book of the old testament, the book of genesis. Taking the book of genesis, bringing it to life with his amazing drawings and a savvy analytical mind, he has created a fresh vision of one of our civilizations oldest books. Nov, 2009 in his thoughtful and articulate introduction to the book of genesis illustrated by r. Robert crumb zap comics dat adam fritz the cat linear art poesia visual christian images comic drawing alex ross more information. Crumb, the legendary countercultural artist of the 60s, is that. David zwirner books the book of genesis illustrated by r. A first look at robert crumbs the book of genesis books. Not since crumb last worked 9 to 5 for a greetings card company in. The work, begun in 2004, was originally intended as a parody of the first book of the bible. Crumb has put the entire text of the best known book of the bible into a graphic work.
If he ever did more chapters i would be first in the queue to buy them. Not since crumb last worked 9 to 5 for a greetings card. Crumb treats the source material with the utmost seriousness, and so his illustrations really bring home the book of genesis weird, hypnotic stories. Yet he strove to produce the most straightforward, faithfultothetext, illustrated version of genesis. Crumb is the author of numerous comic works and one of the pioneers of underground comics and arguably one of the most famous cartoonists in history.
Crumb, the legendary illustrator, reveals here the story of genesis in a profoundly honest and deeply moving way. Crumb lives in the south of france these days, but that hardly means hes spending his autumn years by a pool, sipping pastis. New signed the book of genesis illustrated robert crumb r. Crumb check out an excerpt of the book of genesis illustrated, by r. Crumbs adaptation of the first book of the old testament, the book of genesis. In the introduction to the book of genesis illustrated by r. His books include the book of genesis illustrated by r. The exhibition features 207 individual, black and white drawings incorporating every word from all fifty chapters, as well as a cover, title page, introduction and back cover. Peeling away the theological and scholarly interpretations that have often obscured its most dramatic stories, r.
Kim munson of comic art productions and exhibits cape, pacifica, california, will trace crumb s career from the counterculture underground to the garden of eden. The book of genesis illustrated 1st first edition text only by r crumb and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Crumb 1st edition 2009 at the best online prices at ebay. Oct 24, 2009 the hammer museum presents seminal comic artist r. In his serious graphic rendering of the bibles first book, r. The second strangest thing is the it contains every word of the original text. From creation to the death of joseph, here are all 50 chapters of the book of genesis, revealingly illustrated as. Crumbs heavy cross hatching style works really well in this comic book and he illustrated each panel with so much care and details. No bar reader is unfamiliar with the book of genesis, at least in its broad contours. Crumb, the legendary illustrator, reveals here the story of genesis in a profoundly honest. Crumb portrays him in the splash page that begins his muchanticipated adaptation of genesis in comicbook form as crumb sees his own father.
Such was the approach of cartoonist and illustrator robert crumb, who took on illustrating the entire book of genesis, a text so great and so strange, he says, that it lends itself readily to graphic depictions. His hyperdetailed style is a perfect match for the translation he uses, veering between stilted and bizarre and unexpectedly beautiful. See more of his illustrations at the guardian and purchase his illustrated genesis here. The illustrator of this 2009 book, after all, is r. Crumbs vibrant, overthetop album covers 19682004 r. As the title states, it was the complete book of genesis illustrated as a graphic novel by the noted artist, r. Envisioning the first book of the bible like no one before him, r. But this summer, on a visit to seattle, i spent an afternoon at the seattle art museum, where the featured exhibit was an extensive look at some of the worlds most famous print makers. In 2009, he published his illustrated graphic novel version of the book of genesis, including annotations explaining his reactions to biblical stories. Us cartoonist robert crumb has announced the completion of his longawaited take on the book of genesis, an illustrated rendering of the first 50 chapters.
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