BY Joseph Cavalieri | July 6, 2010

“I wonder if I’ll be famous after this, an’ people will rekkinize me -- Nah, I look just like a million other Jewish women in New York” -- Aline Kominsky Crumb
 
In April 2010 I approached the underground cartoonist Robert Crumb with a proposal to use his images in my stained glass pieces. If you don’t know R. Crumb, he is an animation cult hero whose characters Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural became counterculture icons in the 1970’s. Since then he has produced work with a fresh sense of humor and beautiful drawing style. 
 
I put together some comprehensives of his figures in my settings, and offered to give him one glass piece as a thank you for his generosity. He accepted the idea, and, with a little back-and-forth, approved the designs. I plan on showing some of these at SOFA Chicago this November 2010.
 
During this time I was staying with the Tanzer family in Melbourne, Australia, during my residency at Monash University. My host had a collection of original comics, including about 30 of R. Crumb! I totally flipped out when he showed these originals.