Well almost. If you have seen the new Superman image in the style of pop art legend Andy Warhol in our Galleries recently, you know what I mean. The piece has been commissioned by the Warner Bros. Studio Store Galleries as the first potential new series of DC Comics inspired artwork by Warhol protégé, Steve Kaufman.
Kaufman nicknamed “SAK” by Warhol, worked as Warhol’s assistant in the ‘70s’ and has since carried on in the same artistic tradition, creating art for “the new generation” in the trademark Warhol Style. And not unlike Warhol, Kaufman is unique. When you see him, you can’t see him — a looming presence at 6’7” SAK, usually toting his motorcycle helmet snugly under his arm, commands the room.
Dusting off his jeans after parking his Harley-Davidson outside, he greets his companions with a sheepish smile while extending a suitable paint splattered hand. (Those of you who attended the recent Harley Love Ride in Los Angeles might recognize the image SAK was right there on the bandwagon with his pals Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda.
Indeed, SAK is quite a character. And that character is evident in his work. His first piece for WBSS, released in December, is an arresting image of Superman, who appears to be soaring out of the canvas, arms thrust forward, fist clenched and golden waves of him bellowing behind him.
The Warhol style in which SAK works is the ideal medium for this image because it appeals to a new generation of art lovers. And this project, explains SAK, is fulfillment of his personal lifelong dream to become a comic book artist. “In the ‘60s, fine artist like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and many other artist of the pop art culture used comic book images to capture the spirit of the youth of a generation,” says SAK. “I selected Superman as my subject because I believe that his is a fitting icon for a new generation.”
Some would say that SAK is an Icon for the ‘90s generation. Fresh on the Los Angeles scene after years in New York City (he moved here last November), he has already been commissioned by some of the great pop and media star of our time — the Rolling Stones, Larry Mullen of U2 and Jay Leno to name a few – and is gearing up to open up his own comic Pop Art Factory space modeled after that of Warhol’s in the 1960s’. He has numerous awards and his artwork hangs in the White House and the Smithsonian. Quote a life history for a once struggling young artist from the Bronx.
The
“Superman” images are a limited edition hand- pulled silkscreen on canvas in
oil. Each piece in the 250 edition is hand signed. “SAK” the 30x 40 framed
image sells for $500 (a real value for artist whose work generally retails for
over $1,000) Superman is the first in what we hope will be a sense of such
images of DC Comics Super Heroes for WBSS Galleries.
