Muse of the Weird and Wonderful

Sun illustration by Rolly Crump, 1966

Artist Rolly Crump was honored this week at Disneyland with a special window on Main Street (it's about time!) and I couldn't be happier for him.

Rolly is a swell guy, and one of my favorite artists in the whole world, not only for his Disney work -  which is groundbreaking - but his independent art as well.   Actually, I'm inspired by everything I've seen him do.

 

Rolly with his Tower of the Four Winds model

for the 1964 New York World's Fair

In Disney circles he is known for his designs on the Enchanted Tiki Room, It's a Small World,  the Haunted Mansion, the Adventureland Bazaar, and to a lesser degree for his legendary unbuilt "Museum of the Weird" - macabre and witty concepts that were decades ahead of their time...and Tim Burton.

Lighting Fixture for The Museum of the Weird, 1966

I love his drawing style of the 1960s: bold, ragged ink line, textured and angular, with colors kept to a minimum. Much of it borders on the psychedelic.  Even more, his art has a sly sense of humor that I'm simply crazy about.

Pride Creations "Push Down" Toys, 

concepted by Rolly, 1960s.

According to Rolly, even while at Disney he always had cool projects going on the side. 

In 1960, a chance meeting with West Coast rock poster pioneer, Howard Morseburg, led to a new venture in printmaking.  Rolly's satirical designs poked fun at Beatnik culture, the coffee houses and jazz clubs of Greenwich Village, Seattle, San Francisco, and the East Bay.  

Poster for Pete's Poop Deck Jazz Club

Seattle, Washington, 1960

His easy-to-read graphics satirized big issues of the era, from drug use to the human rights record of revolutionary Cuba and the Soviet Union.  Though they apparently weren't made in extremely large quantities, the hand-pulled prints were popular with artistic young musicians and hipsters, and were influential on poster design that later dominated the Sixties.

"Green Gasser Kauphy House" Poster

1960

In 1959 Rolly became a show designer at WED (now Walt Disney Imagineering) after Walt saw some of the propellers and mobiles he had created.  

Rolly's Rongo Tiki God concept, 1962

I met Rolly for the first time when Jody and I were co-curating "Tiki: Native Drums in the Orange Grove" at the Anaheim Museum in 1996.  Rolly gave a 2-hour presentation describing the inspiration for his Tiki designs and his other work.  An unforgettable evening.

Jody Daily, Rolly Crump, & Kevin Kidney

 Anaheim Museum Tiki Show, September 14, 1996

In our own projects for Disney, Jody and I have welcomed the opportunity to more fully geek out over Rolly's designs by translating several into merchandise, including his 1967 Tomorrowland Ticket Booth,  Small World Clock facade, and, of course, his Tiki characters.

Rongo Tiki Drink Bowl at Disneyland, 2009

Cheers for Rolly, on his very-deserved tribute down at Disneyland this week. We can't thank him enough for sharing his creativity and utter coolness with all of us.