American Short Stories: Saul Steinberg / Raymond Pettibon
Saul Steinberg and Raymond Pettibon might seem to come from separate planets—the one the émigré cosmopolite whose drawings for the New Yorker amused and fascinated sophisticates for nearly sixty years, the other the expert in LA grunge, master of the iconology of Charles Manson, an artist grounded in comic books and punk. But as MoCA director Bonnie Clearwater points out, “They are both philosophically based; both address social critique and popular culture; and both were known first through reproduction, Steinberg through the New Yorker, Pettibon through ’zines and record covers.” Clearwater adds that the highly literate Pettibon is an admirer of Steinberg, and given the current interest in illustrational drawing, the pairing is obvious—right?
