Broken Frontier

It’s probable that you have not yet heard of Molly Crabapple. She’s a fixture in the New York City art scene with her collective Dr. Sketchy’s – a gathering of artists who get together to draw burlesque models. Renowned for her illustration work as much as her burlesque work, Molly recently released Dr. Sketchy’s Official Rainy Day Colouring Book. We got together with one of Fleshbot’s “25 Hottest” to discuss her work.

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BROKEN FRONTIER: First off, there are a lot of comics fans who have no idea who you are, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

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MOLLY CRABAPPLE: Well, my name's Molly Crabapple.  I draw mean-spirited, sometimes sexy Victorian things for places like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Playgirl.  My work also hangs in galleries around the country.  Over the last few years, I seem to have developed a (tiny) cult following, which, I suppose, is how I got the book deal you're
rnnow interviewing me about.

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BF: You started Dr. Sketchy's, what is that and how did it begin?

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MC: Dr. Sketchy's is a burlesque life-drawing session.  Artists draw sexy burlesque babes, compete in contests, and win booze and prizes.  I started Dr. Sketchy's because I worked as an artist's model during college and was bored with the sterile, impersonal classes.  My friend A.V. Phibes got sick of listening to me whine and asked if I could do better.

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Dr. Sketchy's is my attempt.

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We've been running since December 2005, and now have 12 branches around the world, including in Hollywood, England, Scotland, New Zealand and Australia.

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BF: How big is the movement you're involved with in the New York scene?

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MC: Super big!  We're the coolest kids ever, and Scarlett Johannson begs to be invited to our parties! Actually, Dr. Sketchy's has gotten a ton of press coverage, in places like the New Yorker, the Village Voice, NBC, and Time Out New York.

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I'd say in terms of "New York institutions", we're somewhere in between The Guggenheim and the bum who slaps his thighs to music in the 7th Avenue subway tunnel.

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BF: Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book is your first book. What is that all about?

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MC: It's about not adhering to the Barnes and Noble shelving guidelines.  Fuck the man!

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Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book is the story of how I started Dr. Sketchy's as a broke nude model/art student, how it spread across the world, and how you can start your own.  It's also an activity book- chock full of paper dolls, puppets, burlesque colouring
rnbook pages, and a board game that tells  you how the art world really is.

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BF: It seems more activity book, then anything. Did you look for something that would give the reader some form of interactivity with your art?

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MC: Did I ever! I have a severe hard-on for the 19th century, an era where illustration crawled over every surface of life, from walls to cigarette packs to the menus from which you'd order a whore.  I think interactivity is something severely missing in the art world.  I want people to play with my work.

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BF: Who are your biggest influences?

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MC: Charles Dana Gibson. Tony Millionaire. 19th century Illustration. Brueghal. Coffee. Tendinitis.

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BF: Your work seems more on the fringe of comics. How have comics affected your work?

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MC: Art's in a strange place these days.  Shrinking budgets mean that illustration is fleeing from magazines and ad campaigns.  Meanwhile, the fine art world is a white-walled preserve of elitism, far too hoity toity for the common joe to penetrate.  I love comics because they're an art form which people are still passionately attached to.

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BF: What do you draw on for motivation for your work?

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MC: My disinclination for a day job.

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BF: Aside from your duties as illustrator and Dr. Sketchy's bigwig, you also do burlesque. How does that affect your work?

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MC: Burlesque is all about artifice.  Take a burly-q glamour queen and wash off the glitter and paint, and you've got an ordinary girl. My work's all about exploring what's real and artificial.

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Plus, sexy girls are fun to draw.

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BF: Do you feel the inhibition of burlesque enhances your artwork?

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MC: Isn't burlesque more about the lack of inhibitions?

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BF: Right, you got me there. Anyway, Do you ever get tired of being nominated on the various "Hottest" lists that you've appeared on?

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MC: Not as long as they keep giving hits to my website.

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Go pick up Molly’s book, “Dr. Sketchy’s Official Rainy Day Colouring Book” at stores or through amazon.com. And for more on the Dr. Sketchy phenomenon, check out www.drsketchy.com.