S. Clay Wilson papers, 1960-2000

Wilson was co-founder of the underground comix movement in America, and one of the most transgressive and influential artists of the postwar American counterculture. While Wilson's name hasn't achieved the mainstream crossover success of his fellow Zap Comix artist R. Crumb, no other artist has had as much of an influence on the subject matter and aesthetics of the form. Crumb himself has underlined the pivotal influence Wilson has had on his work. "I was never quite the same after I met Wilson ... Wilson was the strongest, most original artist of my generation that I had yet met. After the breakthrough that Wilson had somehow made, I no longer saw any reason to hold back my own depraved id in my work ... It was Wilson's fault! He's the one that started it, not me!" - R. Crumb, The Art of S. Clay Wilson, p. vii.

While the transgressive nature and frequently taboo subject matter of Wilson's work made mainstream acceptance an impossibility, it manifested an outside influence not only on later comic artists worldwide but also on prominent artists in other mediums to a remarkable degree, including the punk, beat, and poetry movements. Wilson influenced and collaborated with such disparate artists and writers as William S. Burroughs, Kathy Acker, The Mekons, Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), Shane McGowan (The Pogues), Terry Southern et al, an influence thoroughly documented in the correspondence as well as the published works included.