Cavalieri and Crumb at MAD

The cult illustrator Robert Crumb–“R. Crumb,” as he signs his work–holds a special place in the hearts of baby boomers. What ’60s kid didn’t gaze in awe at his cover art for Big Brother and the Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills album (marveling every time at Janis Joplin’s cleavage), paste a “Keep on Truckin” sticker on a school notebook, or delight in the idea of a naughty comic strip starring a feline rake named Fritz the Cat?

The New York artist Joseph Cavalieri has been reminded of just how powerfully this era-defining art still resonates, as he does a three-month, open-studio residency (through August) at the Museum of Arts and Design, working on a series of stained-glass panels based on Crumb illustrations–such as D&G, a portrait of Crumb’s wife and muse, Aline Kominsky-Crumb. “The reaction from visitors has been pretty wild,” says Cavalieri, 49. “Seeing these images brings back a forgotten time. Parents are somewhat embarrassed, telling their kids how they loved reading these comics.”

Cavalieri has done darkly funny panels featuring characters from The Simpsons, and wanted to explore other cartoon icons. “Mr. Crumb’s characters felt like the perfect next step,” he says. “The Simpsons and R. Crumb characters share humor, energy and a great drawing style, though Mr. Crumb’s subjects are more personal and way more kinky. Both the Simpsons and R. Crumb characters are about the last thing people expect to see in stained glass, especially when I place them into gothic settings.”

Before he began, Cavalieri submitted a proposal to the legendary artist and asked for permission to use the images. Crumb graciously gave his blessing. (His verbatim reply: “I’m just flattered that you’re making stain glass out of my stuff and hope you make some money off them!”).

“The thing is,” Cavalieri explains, “I am not reprinting his illustrations. I am placing them into gothic settings, and hand-painting each. He uses pen and ink on paper, and I am using paintbrush and enamel on glass. I’ve never done such precise work in my life. It’s probably similar to what a counterfeiter may feel. I offered to give him one piece as a thank you for using his images. At first he declined, but after showing the sketches to Aline, they decided on D&G. He has been very complimentary along all steps of this process.”

Cavalieri will have new works from the ongoing Cavalieri and Crumb series, as well as new Simpsons pieces, in the UrbanGlass booth at SOFA Chicago (Nov. 5-7). He also plans to stop by the Crumbs’ home in France to drop off D&G in person on his way to a residency in India this fall.

“It was only after watching the documentary Crumb that I truly understood the genius of this man,” Cavalieri says. “I’ve always appreciated his style of drawing, but now understand the far-out subjects and personal story lines. This man is a real survivor; his work will live on forever.”