Painting # 220, ©-2014
Now for something completely different. I've had the idea for this image for several years now. I think I might have broken my personal record for the most printed letters and words in one painting. With Superman recently celebrating his 75th anniversary in print, the timing seemed appropriate. Superman was created in 1933 by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian born artist Joe Shuster, high school students living in Cleveland, Ohio. The character was sold to Detective Comics, Inc. (later DC Comics) in 1938. Superman is considered by many to be the most famous superhero of all-time. He was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton and raised by foster parents in the town of Smallville, Kansas. Living under the alias Clark Kent, he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet by day and by night transforms himself to come to the rescue of people in peril by using his superhuman abilities for the benefit of mankind.
I'm really going down memory lane with this one by using toys of bygone days. The first prop belonged to my wife's family. The earth globe was made by J. Chein & Company. This collectable tin toy would be dated pre-1958, since several counties names have since changed after they acquired their independence. The other toy belonging to our son Jean-Luc when he was 8 years old. In 2003, with the success of the Justice League animated series playing on television, Burger King was offering a collection of eight toys in their Kids Club meals which included Superman, Batman, Hawkgirl, The Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman and Javelin 7. During the process of discarding many toys which he had outgrown, I kept a few which included this one.
This painting is a tribute for all of the super heroes that exist in real life. They may not wear skin tight suits and a cape, but their contributions in making the world a better and safer place are immeasurable. Sure there are the household names like Jonas Salk, Thomas Edison, Louis Pasteur, Frederick Banting, Charles Best, Alexander Fleming, Alexander Graham Bell, Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Pierre and Marie Curie and countless others that came before and after. But there's also the people working in all walks of life from the multifaceted healthcare system, teachers, police officers, firemen, farmers, scientists, inventors, soldiers, disaster relief aid workers, cleaning maids who help prevent the transmission of pathogens, volunteers in food banks and animal shelters just to name a few. There are Superheroes who also appear out of nowhere and put themselves in harm's way with acts of bravery to rescue or save a life. And of course, there are those who change the world with simple acts of kindness.
Superman is a regarded as a world-wide Pop Culture icon. From the pages of DC comics, to action figure toys, to kids lunchboxes, printed on t-shirts and p-jays , body tattoos, to the small and big screens adaptations both in animation and live action films spanning several decades and sequels. I remember quite vividly, watching the original Superman movie starring Christopher Reeves as the protagonist with a bunch of friends at a Drive-In Theatre when it came out in 1978. In September 2013, Canada Post issued a series of six-stamp and the Royal Canadian Mint, a collection of silver and gold collector coins for Superman's 75th Anniversary.
-SOLD
