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If Hillary Clinton were a Stormtrooper…
Artist turns major figureheads into characters from Star Wars
– Sculptor Mike Leavitt says he was inspired by Greco-Roman statuary
– Models are hand-carved in wood or sculpted in clay before being painted
– Just like the classic Star Wars toys, they are made with articulated joints
By DAMIEN GAYLE
An artist has created a unique homage to the world’s political, cultural and historical icons – by immortalising them as Star Wars characters. Mike Leavitt, from Vashon Island near Seattle, Washington, wanted to ‘document the pulse of our times’ through sculpture by splicing the fictional characters with famous faces. Although he chose a sci-fi saga as a basis for what he calls his ‘pop culture satirical mash-ups’, he says he sees himself working in the same tradition of Greco-Roman statuary.
The bizarre results include Albert Einstein as R2D2, Steve Jobs as C3PO, Barack Obama as Lando Calrissian and Aung San Suu Kyi as Princess Leia. The figures are in various sizes and many of them are hand-carved from wood. The largest are up to three-feet tall and all are hand painted with oil-based enamel. Just like the classic Star Wars toys, they are made with articulated joints so they can be posed in different positions. And many also come with removable accessories.
‘You Don’t Rebel Walk Scum Away’: The title sculptor Mike Leavitt from Vashon Island near Seattle, Washington, chose for his sculpture re-imagining Hillary Clinton as a Galactic Empire Stormtrooper
‘Pop culture satirical mash-ups’: Albert Einstein, right, as R2D2, and Steve Jobs as C3PO. Mr Leavitt says his intention with the bizarre hybrid representations was to ‘document the pulse of our times’
Heroes of the Rebel Alliance: U.S. President Barack Obama is represented left as Lando Calrissian, while Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is spliced with Princess Leia, right
‘You underestimate the power of the dark side’: Former boxer Mike Tyson, left, is represented as Darth Maul, Sarah Palin, centre, is a dark lord of the Sith, and Donald Trump, right, is shown as Darth Vader
Mahatma Ghandi is spliced with wise Jedi teacher Master Yoda, Che Guevara as Star Wars bounty hunter Boba Fett.
Mr Leavitt, who says he sees himself as an anthropologist working in sculpture, says the works are inspired by the parallels he sees between the classical era and our present-day civilisation. He says he is particularly struck by the sense that modern Western culture may be going the way of the Greeks and Romans. It seems that, to an extent, Mr Leavitt’s own political persuasions have influenced his choice of representations. Liberal heroes like Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi are spliced with characters from Star Wars’ Rebel Alliance, while conservative or controversial figures like Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Mike Tyson are shown as characters from the tyrannical Galactic Empire.
Mr Leavitt’s Empire Peaks exhibition is at New York’s Jonathan LeVine Gallery until 28 December 2013. The 36-year-old sculptor explained: ‘I was inspired to create the Empire Peaks series because I was seeing direct parallels between history and the present.
What’s the origin of this species? Chewbacca is given the heavily bearded face of evolutionist Charles Darwin, left. In the right-hand picture chat show queen Oprah Winfrey is shown as Padme Amidala
Four score and seven years ago, in a galaxy far, far away… Abraham Lincoln is re-imagined left as a laser gun-toting Han Solo. Hollywood star Angelina Jolie is Princess Leia in her slave girl outfit, right
Leavitt says the works are inspired by the parallels he sees between the classical era and our present-day civilisation. ‘I think of my statues as if they are Greco-Roman totems saluting the titans of our contemporary culture. I wonder if the modern dynasties of American, Christian and Western Civilization are falling the way of the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. From this fascination I decided to re-appropriate the classic sculpture archetypes of these ancient civilizations to a completely present-day context. I chose the celebrity likenesses for Empire Peaks based on a well-refined selection process. I’ve sculpted figures of famous people for over a decade. I think of myself as an anthropologist documenting the pulse of our times in sculpture. Choosing the Empire Peaks non-fiction characters followed this impulse. Though my previous Art Army project represented artists exclusively. I wanted Empire Peaks to represent the architects of modern culture as a whole. Some of the "empires" are more cultural, some more political, some topple dynasties and create new ones in the process. Whatever the case, each character is complicit in carving out large swaths of our cultural landscape.’
Painstaking: Mr Leavitt puts the finishing touches to Martin Luther Kind as a Jedi knight, left. The right hand picture shows him finishing the sculpture of Steve Jobs as C3PO with real wires
Hours of painstaking work went into each of Mr Leavitt’s statues, which are made of wood and polymer clay then hand-finished in enamel paints. He said: ‘I hand-carved many of the Empire Peaks statues in wood. Every piece in the show has 5 moving body parts at 4 points of articulation. Articulating the statues like this is designed to satirise the Star Wars elements of the mash-ups. The largest pieces, standing about three feet tall, are completely carved from scratch in wood. I hand-paint them with oil-based enamel. I sculpted the medium-size statues, about one-and-a-half feet, in wood with polymer clay details in the hands and face. I sculpted the one-foot tall figures in polymer clay. I’ve hidden and hand-painted many tiny details in these smaller figures. All the statues include removable accessories. These accessories and moving body parts are also designed practically to aid in shipping. Every statue can be completely dismantled to ease the transport.’
