[NSFW] Friday Artfest: Gurls! Sex! by R. Crumb

Gurls! Sex! by Robert Crumb

R. Crumb is one of those controversial artists that people either love or love to hate. Personally I love his artwork. This piece in particular features a lot of the things that make me such a fan. His line work is incredible and his ability to simulate various fabrics and colors of flesh just amazes me. Then when you look at the outlines of each woman's body they have this amazing strength to them that creates this sexual power that radiates off the page. Yet even in a strong piece such as this you can see the weakness of Crumb's art. The black woman's hand looks like it's malformed. The blonde woman has the stereotypically small head and the black woman speaks with a borderline offensive style of speech.

For Crumb's critics the overt sexuality of his women overcomes any appreciation for his artistic ability. That is a pity, because not only does Crumb have some of the best line work I've ever seen but the ease with which he pulls off satire and social commentary are unparalleled. If you'd like to find more of Crumb's work I highly recommend The Complete Crumb collections. In particular the first three Volumes are outstanding  (with Vol. 3 staring Fritz the Cat) and the ZAP Comics Collection is really worth picking up (even if they're very expensive).