The Institute of Contemporary Art is currently hosting ‘Splat, Boom, Pow!: The Influence of Cartoons in Contemporary Art.’ This incredibly exciting and ambitious exhibition showcases the work of three generations of artists from all over the world. The artwork featured is inspired not only by cartoons but by comics and illustrations from children’s literature. It’s a rare opportunity to see pieces by such well established artists as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, as well as more recent figures like Takashi Murukami.
The ground floor of the exhibit features mostly work by pop artists of the 1960s such as Roy Lichtenstein and Mel Ramos. The focal point, and one of the most unique pieces in the exhibit however, is the recent ‘Wonder Woman Cosmos 2003’ by Jennifer Zackin. Amazon-like Wonder Woman dolls are placed among a complex design constructed with smaller, brightly colored plastic soldiers in resin. Inspired by Buddhist teachings, Zackin’s work is a striking image of strength and integrity in the midst of chaos.
Another highlight of the first floor is Andy Warhol’s ‘Myths’ series of 10 silkscreen paintings. Each of the images depicts an iconic American figure Mickey Mouse, Santa Claus and, of course, Andy himself.
Three of Keith Haring’s painted skateboard decks from 1986 are on display, as well as an untitled work by Basquiat and two oil paintings featuring Roy Lichtenstein’s signature Benday dots. A more unexpected and striking piece is ‘Sarejevo, the Serbian Way’ by Roger Brown, which depicts a housing tenement crumbling as a menacing robot presides over a scene of violence.
The upper floor houses more recent work by American and international artists. The ultimate highlight is the display of six of Henry Darger’s fantastic, panoramic drawings, which are meant to be visual accompaniments to his 15,000 page epic, ‘The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, as Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion.’ If that title doesn’t blow your mind, Darger’s images of hermaphrodite children with butterfly wings slaughtering each other with rifles definitely will.
Many of the more contemporary artists featured in the exhibition use cartoon-inspired images to represent issues related to race and gender.
Layla Ali’s ‘greenheads’ series, created in 1999 and 2000, consists of paintings of strange humanoids with round, green, balloon-like heads. Ali created a new figure that did not carry any cultural or historical associations in order to explore universal themes of violence, control and insanity. Roger Shimomura’s series ‘Jap’s a Jap’ inserts a World War II caricature of a Japanese man into various scenes, expressing the racism that Asian Americans may feel is aimed at them every day.
A more humorous take on racial themes is found in Raje, a series of photographs in which the Jamaican-born artist Renee Cox depicts herself as a huge Amazon battling the forces of evil. One photograph features her fighting a chubby CEO in outer space, poised to punch him with her mighty, blinged-out fist adorned with fake nails.
It’s somewhat disappointing that the only work by Takashi Murukami in the exhibit is a repetetive video projection and not one of his outrageous, Manga-inspired fiberglass sculptures but the man’s has been busy making those scary Louis Vuitton purses with eyeballs on them, so perhaps we should cut him some slack. The exhibition does include a beautiful, austere sculpture by another Japanese artist, Yoshimoto Nara, of two childlike, sleeping heads on top of a huge bowl.
‘Splat, Boom Pow!’ could have been a somewhat predictable exhibit had it focused on only well-known, 1960s pop artists. Instead, it’s full of surprising and innovative work from mid-century to the present. This show is so packed with exciting art that you’ll want to return for another visit.