When I wuz a kid I loved looking at National Geographic magazine for the native women boobie pics. Now, I appreciate the great art that was in the periodical (all right, I never have tired of looking at the native women boobies). There’s an exhibit going on right now, “National Geographic: The Art of Exploration” at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. The artists are some of my faves including N.C. Wyeth, Charles R. Knight, Robert McGinnis, Thorton Oakley, Noel Sickles, and Vincent Di Fate. BTW I had the privilege of sharing a stage with Vincent at the Society of Illustrators a couple of years ago. Vincent talked about Science Fiction art, Murray Tinkelman talked about great illustrators and I gave a talk on the 100 Coolest Cartoonists.

At this exhibit I am especially taken by the painting “The Mysterious Maya” by Louis Glanzman of the Inca dude who seems to be a cartoonist drawing a comic book! Cartoonists back then and in that society apparently wore funny hats and earrings , drew bare chested and assumed a stance not unlike they were about to “drop the kids off at the pool”.

Great exhibit-but no native women boobies!

(click for a closer look)

(click for a closer look)

Artist Mike Leavitt has been creating action figures of cool fine artists and hot low-brow artists including folks found in the Arf books. Below is Salvador Dali whose comics were featured in Modern Arf…

Here’s Gary Baseman who drew painted Patrick McDonnell to begin McDonnell’s section in Modern Arf…

Behold, a snazzy Coop who’s pic of Commie Cartoonist Art Young graces Arf Museum…

R. Crumb had a great artist/model cartoon on the chapter looking at that subject in Modern Arf…

Finally, I’m real excited about the Picasso comics featured in Arf Museum which like the Dali section in Modern Arf has cartoonist doing riffs on their fine artists counterpart. Pablo gets the treatment in Arf Museum by Art Spiegelman, pin up artist Gil Elvgren, Paul Webb, Gene Deitch and French cartoonists Bosc and Maurice Henri. Here’s the Spainard as as sculpted by Leavitt…