First Flights

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'the FIght' 2014 60x40 inchs on inkjet

'How Time Flies' ( 2013 ) by Lenny Gilmore

I was thinking about how quickly time passes us by as we struggle with the complexities of our modern lives. Struggling to devote enough time to the many people and things we value. I tried to give the collage the tension one can feel when watching hands move around a clock. To accomplish this I tried to give my image a spiraling/ twisting feel, to cause the eyes to observe it in a circular motion.
I used the legendary 'Action Comics #1' cover as a model. The cover masterfully references art history. Super-Man is depicted as his predecessor was in ‘Hercules and the Hydra’ ( c. 1475 ) and the terrified men running in such awe and terror at his great strength remind one of the very unsettling,‘The Scream’. by Edvard Munch.
I tried to reinerpret those influences, to make the feat of strength of my super-hero go almost unnoticed in the chaos of my image. Having my reference to ‘The Scream’ have more to do with a fear of falling ( through time and space ) then anything to do with the power of one person.

Construction of this image was done completley without found images and is 100% my own work.

'Starry Flight' ( 2013 ) by Lenny Gilmore
from my series called 'First Flights'

For my second image called ‘Starry Flight’, I'm continuing my look at modern hero worship. Heros have typically been depicted as a 1 in a million, near physically perfect person, who alone is more capable of fixing humanity's problems then the rest of humanity combined. I find that portrayal is inspirational but also frustrating since we live in a world that is in dire need of the cooperation and team work of all its residents.

My first image in this series 'How Time Flies' showed a cynical ( but playful ) view of an exceptionally strong but lone hero overwhelmed and incapable of handling the problems around him. 'Starry Flight' flips that and shows a hopeful scene of the strength found in numbers.