Why yellow, of course.
What if superheroes from comic books were followed around by manic paparazzi hellbent on catching them in compromising situations that would superimpose boring images of their off-time with our popular conception of them as non-stop action heroes? “Secret Life of Heroes”, is a post-pop collection from French artist Grég “Leon” Guillemin, who offers a comprehensive look at this imposition of our celebrity culture into the “private worlds” of many different comic book icons. After his work was already well-received by the public, he is looking for $30,000 in funding on Kickstarter in a project titled “For Your Eyes Only: the book from the Secret Life Of Heroes”.
NYCE is featuring several of Guillemin’s works, and helped him created a polychrome, 3D printed resin statue of Catwoman holding a yellow rubber duck. By backing him on Kickstarter, you can have a replica of that exact same 3D printed sculpture, a work of art currently being shown at a fine art gallery in New York City. Now, I know that’s not a big deal to many people, but it’s an interesting extension of the commercial-Warhol-art factory concept. While the work of art is sitting there, if you had the digital files, you could print your own, or modify it before it becomes a real physical object, providing slight differences in the way the digital sculpture becomes real. Warhol would be proud?
Guillemin doesn’t call himself an artist, instead preferring “eclectic graphical gamer”, and considers himself part of the “Geek art” movement. That phrase might refer to the fact that his art was first very popular online, and hyper-jumped from the digital space to the physical space. Initially, he published the book in a cheap paperback form, but wasn’t very pleased with the quality of the prints. The project is mainly about getting a higher-quality, hardcover 1st edition of the book out to his fans and other interested parties. Cataloging over 100 of his works, Guillemin writes that, “the best scenes are the most unexpected and out of character for the heroes you thought you knew so well.” He also crosses cartoon and comic characters with pop stars such as Pharrell. In a piece he calls “Happy”, you find yourself looking at a beautiful 3D print of Pharrell in his billion gallon hat, with Droopy the cartoon stoner canine sitting on its brim, juxtaposing the commercially happy with the morose dog.
For $35, early bird supporters will get the hardcover 1st edition, which will be shipped in May 2015. For $100 you will get the same 1st edition shipped in May, signed by Gulliemin. If you choose to back him for $2500, you can get 1 of 12 unrevealed limited edition repilcas of the polychrome, 3D printed, resin sculptures on display at NYCE right now. Only two were posted, Catwoman plus her rubber duck, and Pharrell plus Droopy.
If you happen to be in Paris right now, you can see Guillem’s solo show, opening on February 6th.
