Molly's retro pen and ink work is a riot of detail and dirty jokes, like an R. Crumb in Victorian England. From bright and beautiful oil paintings of burlesque queens to charming drawings of Parisian cafes, Ms. Crabapple is poised to explode.
Molly Crabapple is an award-winning artist, writer and the founder of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School.
Molly learned to draw in a Parisian bookstore. She later drew her way through Morocco and Kurdistan, and once into a Turkish jail. Back in New York, she got her first illustration job doing covers for SCREW Magazine. She now wields her drawing pen for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Playgirl, as well as jugglers, fire-eaters, and blogs that sell used panties. Equally adept at drawing sexy dames, whimsical kids illustrations and biting editorial, Molly would very much like to wield her pen for your project.
Molly's equally known for her fine art. Her surreal, sexy Victoriana hangs in lowbrow galleries across the country, as well as at the Coney Island Museum and the Museum of American Illustration. She's had several solo shows- all scandelous.
While her high-school novel is thankfully confined to oblivion, Molly writes smart-aleck essays for places like NY Press, Punk Planet, Coagula Arts Journal, and a monthly column for Art Calendar.
During college, Molly worked as an art model, appearing scantily-clad (if at all) on Nerve.com, SuicideGirls and Lowrider. Because of this, she makes lists like NY Post's "25 Sexiest New Yorkers". and Fleshbot's "Top Ten Hotties of 2005." She's danced burlesque and eaten fire in dive bars in New York, New Jersey and Boston, once opening for the Dresden Dolls. Yes, she gets strange emails.
In December 2005, Molly founded Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School with her friend A.V. Phibes. Disappointed by the dull life drawing classes she'd posed for, Molly built Dr. Sketchy's on the principles of fair pay for models and boozy fun for all. Artists draw burlesque dancers, compete in contests, and win liquor and prizes. Dr. Sketchy's scooped up copious media love from places like NBC, Time Out NY, The New Yorker, and the Village Voice.
In July 2006, Dr. Sketchy's went from Brooklyn event to international franchise. Sister Sketchy's have sprung up in ten cities across the world, including in England, Denmark and Australia. These Dr. Sketchy's receive juicy press devotion of their own.
Molly's first book, Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book, is being released by Sepulculture Publishing in December 2006. You should buy a copy.
In her free time, Molly enjoys drinking coffee, drawing mean pictures and planning how to conquer Russia in the winter.
Do you want to interview me for a paper, zine, webzine, radio show, or any other media? Press@mollycrabapple.com
Got questions? Comments? Scurrillous Allegations about my Past? Email them to jen@mollycrabapple.com
I learned to draw in a Parisian bookstore. My pen and ink technique comes from hours spent copying Alice in Wonderland and A Tart’s Progess. I soon fell in love with the feel of making ink lines- the crackle of the paper, the scratch of the pen nib, the sensual pleasure in drawing a curve.
Back in New York I came across the subject most dear to my heart.-artifice. As a model, I work in an industry where girls turn their bodies into art objects. It’s a beauty doubly poignant because it’s so short-lived. Most girls won’t last past thirty. My time as a burlesque dancer showed me plain women emerging from the club’s dressing room as goddesses. Through paint, feathers and pasties, they made themselves gorgeous. It’s beauty as a garment, a shell, a mask.
In the two time periods I draw from most in my work- Victorian England and Rococo France- people tried to make their entire public lives as artificial as a burlesque dancer’s face. My characters, bewigged aristocrats and corseted ladies, are creatures of the polished surface. They’re molded by ornament- their corsets and cage skirts- and sometimes trapped inside.
But as with any mask, there’s a face underneath. And the face in my work is smirking. For any mask, or mask like society, has a weakness. If you want to crack it, you only have to laugh. Thus, my characters have arched brows and sarcastic smiles. They want to let you in on a secret. It’s all terribly silly, isn’t it?
Magazines and Newspapers:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Hamptons Magazine, Washington Monthly, SF Weekly, Playgirl, SCREW, NY Press, $pread, We Must Become Our Heros, Peepshow, Jest, Thowaway, Horizans, Papotage, The Grapefruit, Futures, Playground, Fierce, NY Free Events Calender, BLOCK Magazine, 11211 Magazine,Teeze, NY Waste
Book Publishers:
Harper Collins, Casca Sun Publishing, Orange You Glad
Ad Agencies:
Bravado Marketing, Concept Farm, PLUG Promotions
Movie Studios:
Destiny Studios
Stores:
Jane Doe Books, May Day Books, Theater for a New City
Comrades:
Ixion Burlesque, Dirty Martini, The WORLD FAMOUS BOB, the Mad Jazz Hatters, Tyler Fyre
Awards.
Honorable Mention. Going Underground Juried Show. Art at Large. 8/06
Honorable Mention. New Erotix Juried Erotic Art Show. Art at Large. 7/05
Solo Exhibitions
2006
Licentious Behavior. Perihelion Arts. 5/06
Tarts and Flowers- A Valentines Day Show. Jigsaw Gallery. 2/06
2005
Ink! Babes! Irony!-Molly Crabapple Says Goodbye to Pen and Ink. Jigsaw Gallery. 2/05
Selected Group Exhibitions
2006
The Drawing Show. Perihelion Arts. 11/06
Eye Candy. Trinity Art Gallery. 10/06
Paper Doll Show. Trunk Space. 10/06
Going Underground. Art at Large. 8/06
Dirty Detroit Summer Show. 8/06
Betty Does Veronica. Femina Potens. 6/06
Sex Worker Visions. Gallery exhibit organized by Spread magazine. Location TBA. 4/06
Native Spirit. Supreme Trading. Show curated by David Gibson. 3/06
Girls! Girls! Girls! MF Gallery 2/06
Dirty Detroit Erotic Art Fair 2/06
Victorian Rhapsodies. (Three Person Show) Toyroom Gallery. 1/06
Spin. CVB Space. 1/06
2005
Grope Show. Zito Studio/Gallery. 12/05
Broads on the Bowery. CBGB’s Gallery 313. 10/05
Cannibal Flower. Los Angeles. 9/05
Werwolf Bongo Party. DVA Gallery. Chicago. 10/05
Halloween Show. MF Gallery. 10/05
Untitled. Bluespace Gallery. 10/05
Cannibal Flower. Los Angeles. 8/05
BlueShow. BlueSpace Gallery. (Los Angeles). 7/05
Exquisite Corpse . Toyroom Gallery. ( Sacramento ) 10/05
Our Own Show. Museum of American Illustration. 9/05
New Erotix- the Third Annual Juried Erotic Art Show. Art at Large Gallery. 7/05
The Mermaid Show. Coney Island Museum . 6/05
The Smut Show. Green Door Gallery. ( Kansas City ) 5/05
Propaganda. Encrypt Gallery at Columbia University . 4/05
Patterns and More Patterns. Bamboo Lane Gallery . ( Los Angeles ) 4/05
Dirty Detroit Erotic Art Fair 2/05
2004
Lower East Side Festival of the Arts 8/03
The Hip Hop Show, Asterisk Art Project 4/04
Self Portraits, Theater for the New City 3/04
The Writer as Visual Artist, Theater for the New City 2/04
Terrible Toy Fair, CBGB 313 Gallery 1/04
2003
Queer Artists Talk Back, The DUMBA Collective.10/03
The DUMBO Festival of the Arts 10/03
The Lower East Side Festival of the Arts 8/03
“ Visions of New York” Antique Café/Gallery 7/03 (solo)
Resistance, a Festival of Peace, Theater for the New City 4/03
Articles and Reviews
Molly Crabapple. Trigger Magazine. May 2005
Interview with Molly Crabapple. The Noyse.com. May 2005
“Dirty Girl scout- A Conversation with Molly Crabapple”. Ism Magazine. Australia . May 2005
Conversation with Molly Crabapple. 93x.com. April 2005
”The Delectable Style of Molly Crabapple”. New York Waste . May 2005
Radio Interview on Trigger Radio. April 2005
"Molly Crabapple At Jigsaw Gallery" Coagula Arts Journal. March 2005
"All the Smart Girls Know Why- An Interview with Molly Crabapple." Sleazegrinder.com. November 2004
Education
Fashion Institute of Technology . A.A.S. Illustration
Memberships
Society of Illustrators. Artist Member
The content presented on this website is copyright Molly Crabapple © 2005 or earlier. All graphic and web work by Malloreigh Antithesis.