Like art? What about superman? And does seeing those two paired so closely together seem weird to you? Perhaps it does now, but it won’t after you see Kelley’s Kandors, an art exhibit being shown at the Hauser and Wirth Gallery (511 West 18th St.) until October 24th. The exhibit focuses on the story of Superman, and on more closely examining and expressing it. The name, in fact — Kandor — comes from the city of Superman’s birth, the capitol of his home planet, Krypton. If you’re a comic buff, though, I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know.
Kool Kelley
So here’s some information you might not know: who was Mike Kelley? Mike Kelley lived from 1954-2012, and was a Los Angeles area artist of some note. Over his four-decade career, he worked in many different media — not just sculpture, but dance, painting, drawing, music, videography, and even critical writing. His art focused on examining the themes underlying convention and, where necessary, pulling them apart. A very interesting man and a very talented artist, his loss was felt by the community.
In All Kandor
The exhibit itself is focused around the Man of Steel’s home city. As the story goes, Kandor was stolen by one “Brainiac” before Krypton was destroyed, and shrunk down and put into a bottle. Superman eventually wrestles the city away from Brainiac and puts it in his Fortress of Solitude, keeping the citizens alive with Kryptonian atmosphere. For Kelley, this city was the ultimate representation of “his inability to escape the past, and his alienated relationship to his present world.” The exhibit focuses on themes of memory, trauma, and repression through the medium of Kandor.
So if you’ve often gone to the art museum and said to yourself “this would be perfect if there were just a little bit of Superman here,” this is your chance (and probably not one that you’ll get again). Let us keep you safe, happy, comfortable, and — perhaps most importantly — normal-sized on Seastreak. Have a super time.
Sea you Soon!
The Seastreak Family
Filed Under: Kelley’s Kandors