Art & Beauty is his magazine project, originally published in the '90s, styled after a risqué 1920s publication notorious for its nude photographs of life models. As you might expect, however, Crumb's take is a little more subversive and misanthropic than that.
Tabloid stars, sports personalities (most notably Serena Williams, above) and friends of the artist are drawn by him alongside captions taken from the historical canon – Da Vinci, Cezanne, Andy Warhol – the idea being to critique both groups by pairing the 'high' with the 'low'. Although clothed, many of Crumb's female subjects are portrayed in ways that might seem objectifying, the fetishistic proportions of their bodies reminiscent more of porn than popular social commentary.
'To render and glorify
the life today', reads a slogan on the magazine's front cover by Crumb's friend
and collaborator, the writer Charles Bukowski. Whether Art & Beauty does that is unclear, and some may
take issue with the rendering and, particularly, the glorification of
hyper-sexualised, 'modern' views of women.
What | R. Crumb: Art & Beauty, David Zwirner |
Where | David Zwirner, 24 Grafton Street, London, W1S 4EZ | MAP |
Nearest tube | Green Park (underground) |
When |
15 Apr 16 – 02 Jun 16, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
Price | £FREE |
Website | Click here for more information |