I'm into old-time music; I'm not very interested in modern, popular music at all. And if I'm really into some particular old-time musician, some fiddler or banjo player, I'm always dying of curiosity to see what they look like. So there's some connection between visual images and music.

Robert Crumb

You don’t have journalists over there anymore, what they have is public relations people. That’s what they have over in America now. Two-hundred and fifty thousand people in public relations. And a dwindling number of actual reporters and journalists.

Robert Crumb

numbers two america

When I come up against the real world, I just vacillate.

Robert Crumb

come-up real world

Hey kids, while you're out smashing the state keep a smile on your lips and a song in your hearts.

Robert Crumb

heart song kids

I felt so painfully isolated that I vowed I would get revenge on the world by becoming a famous cartoonist.

Robert Crumb

becoming revenge world

You can't make everybody love you. It's an exercise in futility, and it's probably not even a good idea to try.

Robert Crumb

exercise love-you ideas

Drawing is a way for me to articulate things inside myself that I can't otherwise grasp.

Robert Crumb

drawing i-can way

As a kid growing up in the 1950s I became acutely aware of the changes taking place in American culture and I must say I didn't much like it. I witnessed the debasement of architecture, and I could see a decline in the quality of things like comic books and toys, things made for kids. Old things seemed to have more life, more substance, more humanity in them.

Robert Crumb

growing-up kids book

Your vigor for life appalls me.

Robert Crumb

vigor

I'm just a negative person, a deeply negative person. I see the worst aspects of everything.

Robert Crumb

aspect worst negative

When I listen to old music, that's one of the few times that I actually have a kind of love for humanity.

Robert Crumb

old-music kind humanity

At least I hate myself as much as I hate anybody else.

Robert Crumb

i-hate-myself i-hate hate

I lose patience with long stories. I get people who go, "Crumb, do some long stories, do a graphic novel." Novel-schmovel.

Robert Crumb

stories long people

The Bible was not written for entertainment purposes, so it's a real hodgepodge and a compendium of all kinds of stuff.

Robert Crumb

purpose real stuff

The work itself is what motivates me. I like my own stuff, you know? I like the way it looks. I do it to please myself first.

Robert Crumb

stuff looks way

I'm an outsider. I will always be an outsider.

Robert Crumb

outsiders

Some things I won't do for any amount of money. That's so demoralizing and goes against every principle that I hold. It's like, okay, some rich people can buy me because I'm a talented guy. They can buy talent. You can't buy it for yourself, but you can buy other people's talent to serve your purposes. And once an artist does that, he becomes like a plaything of the rich. You know, some of these wealthy collectors have paid lots of money for artwork that I already did, but I didn't do it with the intention of catering to them.

Robert Crumb

guy artist people

I draw the line at some things. Some things I won't do for any amount of money. Like for instance, there's a couple of CEOs of very large corporations that offered me lots of money to do special pictures for them. And I just refused to do that. Even if it was a million dollars I wouldn't do it.

Robert Crumb

lines couple special

The only burning passion I'm sure I have is the passion for sex.

Robert Crumb

burning passion sex

Throwaway pens are no good - I never liked them. I've tried them all.

Robert Crumb

pens

The fine-art world knows very little about the cartoon world.

Robert Crumb

littles world art