Woodstock 1

Woodstock - or more specifically, the Woodstock depicted in the style of Mad Magazine’s heavily-populated, double-page spreads - became a strong inspiration for Ralph & Benji. The Mad style, in combination with limited drawing skills, creates tableaus reminiscent of medieval painting prior to the development of “perspective.”

In this first drawing we still see carry-overs from the “Rusty’s House” drawings, with many of the characters depicted in such a way as to suggest that they are meant to represent real people that the artist knows. And the scene includes a UFO, a grave, a submarine; the music festival doesn’t quite encompass all the action.

Music 1

Music 1 & Music 2 here (all titles are the curator’s not the artists’) don’t specifically depict Woodstock but I believe they derive from the form of the artists’ Woodstock drawings. In the first, in contrast to Woodstock 1, the characters have largely become anonymous male musicians & bikini-clad female dancers. The only recognizable character is the fictional Charlie Brown, obviously feeling very much out of place in this increasing tribal & sexualized gathering.

Music 2