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Contemporary art and mass culture are intimately connected with each other. There are several popular references within great works of art, just think of Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup or the most famous still image from Pulp Fiction that became a real work of art thanks to the mastery of the street artist Banksy.
And among the references to everyday culture, we cannot miss the Superheroes! In contemporary art, we find superhero paintings with Marvel and DC characters, but also sculptures and spray cans featuring the most famous comic book heroes.
Super Hero Art: five artists who have paid tribute to them
Discover five artists who have paid homage to superheroes - and supervillains - Marvel and DC Comics:
- Mr. Brainwash between super villains and superheroes
- Andy Warhol's Superman Pop
- Daniele Fortuna and Batman
- Ugo Nespolo and his Superheroes
- Marco Lodola and the brightest superheroes in art
Mr. Brainwash between super villains and superheroes
From Mickey Mouse to Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup, Mr. Brainwash has brought many symbols and characters from mass culture into his artwork. These include the most famous superheroes such as Batman and Superman but also villains such as the Joker and Harley Quinn. Characterised by the artist's distinctive style, the artworks with these super protagonists emerge from bright and colourful backgrounds with strong references to artists from which Mr. Brainwash takes his inspiration.
In Batman VS Superman the artist decided to merge the two superheroes into one art hero, while in another of his works, Obama Superman, he decided to dress former US President Obama in the iconic Superman suit.
Not only superheroes are depicted in Mr. Brainwash's works, super villains also play a starring role. From Harley Quinn depicted on the occasion of the release of the film Suicide Squad, where she was played by Margot Robbie, to the comics' Joker depicted alongside his iconic laugh.
In addition to the canvases and limited editions rich with references to comic book characters, the artist has also designed a series of Spray Cans entirely inspired by Marvel characters: from Spiderman to the HulkCaptain America and Iron Man Superhero. Pop Art and Street Art thus combine with the world of comics.
Andy Warhol's Superman Pop
In addition to the artists of the contemporary art scene who dedicate to super hero paintings and sculptures, Andy Warhol in the 1980s also had a painting dedicated to Superman in his collection entitled Myths, elevating the character into a pop art superhero.
The DC Comics superhero is depicted flying against a black background and has two versions, one fully coloured and one in which the outlines of the superhero are only visible. The Myths portfolio aims to represent Warhol's hopes, fantasies, dreams and fears by associating them with iconic characters from American popular culture.
The choice to reproduce the superhero is by no means accidental; at the age of eight, the young artist decided that Superman would be his new idol. Due to an autoimmune disease that led him to be bullied at school and to a period lying in bed at hospital, Warhol found in comic books his refuge and in Clark Kent an idol to inspire him.
Just as it happened in the Superman story in which a young and outsider Clark Kent becomes a superhero, so Andy Warhol wanted to transform himself and abandon the insecure kid inside him. Although Warhol's transformation was not to become a superhero, to this day he is the artist who has most marked contemporary art as well as being the pioneer of the Pop Art movement.
And it was in 1981 that the artist decided to pay homage to his idol by creating his own interpretation of Superman, one of his Pop Art Superheroes. The young Warhol's illness not only inspired the creation of the most Pop Superman in history, but also helped inspire the artist in the creation of another successful series of works, namely Campbell's Soup, the soup that his mother gave to Warhol throughout the period in which his illness confined him to bed.
Daniele Fortuna and Batman
What happens when classicism and contemporaneity come together in the same work of art? Daniele Fortuna in his wooden busts inspired by ancient sculptures does not fail to add a touch of the contemporary. And this is how Superhero artwork, such as Batman busts or the 'rolling' heads of the Heads Will Roll series with the face of Batman are born.
Not only is the Dark Knight re-imagined as if he were an ancient character, but also Captain America is represented in perfect Fortuna style. Bright colours and deep carvings representing the artist's Colormination enrich the figures of the well-known comics characters, creating superhero comic art.
Ugo Nespolo and his Superheroes
Joker, Spiderman, Batman are the protagonists of Ugo Nespolo's Superheroes portfolio, in which each artwork is dedicated to a superhero or his antagonist. Sharp silhouettes and bright colours: this is how Nespolo pays homage to pop culture and the world of comics through superheroes art.
The super hero artwork in the series is characterised by the presence of the character within three large pieces as if they were exhibited in a museum room.
In addition to comic book characters, Ugo Nespolo fuses art and cinema within his works. In the work Upside Down, in fact, we find the iconic kiss scene between Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson in the 2002 film Spider-Man, whose protagonists were played by Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.
Marco Lodola and the brightest superheroes in art
Canvases, silkscreens and light sculptures: Marco Lodola includes the famous superheroes Batman and Superman in several artworks paying homage to them and interpreting them in his iconic style. The bright colours and undefined faces make Lodola's works timeless, leaving the colours as protagonists.
While in Batman the half-length is depicted, in Superman Lodola decides to represent the essence of the character, portraying him in his classic pose assumed during flight with his arm raised and in his typical clothing.
Another comics character Lodola decided to pay homage to is Wonder Woman, the protagonist together with Superman of the comic book Superman/Wonder Woman in which the two protagonists are involved in a love story and fight crime together.
