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 More Quotes by Robert Crumb More Quotes From Robert Crumb I always had a sketchbook with me when I was young. I was hiding behind it, basically, hiding behind drawing because I couldn't cope with people in real life; I was very shy and very nervous around people. Robert Crumb drawing real people There's some connection between visual images and music. But there's plenty of old records where I have no idea what the band looked like, or even what sort of context the music was played in. Robert Crumb connections band ideas Violence begets violence, and then you get leaders who are violent men. And you don't want that. Robert Crumb leader want men The comics are where all the crazy subconscious stuff comes out. Robert Crumb subconscious crazy stuff Everything that is strong in me has gone into my art work. Robert Crumb strong gone art There's many heroic underappreciated investigative journalists. Robert Crumb heroic journalist 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. Robert Crumb artist doe people Some of the 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. I think part of the reason my work is attractive to people like that is because it doesn't cater to them. Robert Crumb reason people thinking They were just snapshots, nothing special, nothing particularly artistic. They were used for utility purposes. (On photographs of mundane streetscapes he had Stanley Something-or-other take in Sacramento in 1988 to serve as backgrounds to his cartoons. People don't draw it, all this crap, people don't focus attention on it because it's ugly, it's bleak, it's depressing... But, this is the world we live in; I wanted my work to reflect that, the background reality of urban life. ) Robert Crumb depressing reality people I use photos a lot for drawing people and personalities, but they're almost never photos that I've taken. Robert Crumb drawing taken people I couldn't find any good pictures in magazines of ordinary modern street corners in America, so I persuaded this guy I knew in Sacramento - Stanley Something-or-other - to spend a day with me driving around just to take snapshots. Robert Crumb guy ordinary america I still can't spend a lot of money on records at collector prices. There's something in me that just won't allow me to do that. But I will trade my artwork, which I know is worth thousands of dollars. Robert Crumb artwork dollars records I don't do album covers or CD covers for groups or musicians I don't like or have no interest in. Robert Crumb cds groups musician Yeah, I was a child of American popular culture. Robert Crumb yeah culture children I didn't invent anything; it's all there in the culture; it's not a big mystery. I just combine my personal experience with classic cartoon stereotypes. Robert Crumb classic cartoon culture I knew I was weird by the time I was four. I knew I wasn't like other boys. I knew I was more fearful. I didn't like the rough and tumble most boys were into. I knew I was a sissy. Robert Crumb sissy four boys When people say 'What are underground comics?' I think the best way you can define them is just the absolute freedom involved... we didn't have anyone standing over us. Robert Crumb people way thinking I was a child of American popular culture. All I did as a kid was what I could get at the local supermarket or the dime store. Nothing else was seen. Plus what was on television, or the movie theatre. That was it. Robert Crumb theatre kids children 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. Robert Crumb curiosity dying player Most of my adult life I had this towering contempt for America. Robert Crumb contempt adults america
