77 Falling Men; 3 Falling Women; 1 Falling Bird, Horse and Cow; One Man on Fire
This piece is based on copyright-free comic book figures from Western comics published in Canada and the United States in the 1940s and 50s.
Cutting these figures from their comic book stories—stories always of the lawless Western frontier—they are in free fall: falling through time and space, and falling through the history that brought them here. Just as they are physically falling, flailing, they are morally falling. Originally created in a time when the cowboy was the uncomplicated hero of white settler stories, I see them as relics of the myths settlers told and continue to tell to rewrite history. But, free of context, free of the mythology that holds them up, they are just white men and women, falling.
Each figure has been lifted from its comic book story, scanned, the line-work redone (each figure takes over 15 hours of work), colours corrected, wear and tear unworn and untorn, their partial bodies often made whole by stitching them together with scraps.
This is a limited edition giclee print (25 prints) on acid-free archival paper with pigment-based inks. Available in three sizes:
· 24” X 24”: $275 + shipping
· 36” X 36”: $450 + shipping
· 42” X 42”: $600 + shipping
Contact me to see the whole piece (the image here is cropped) and to confirm pricing.
Acquired in 2023, this piece is also part of the City of Ottawa’s permanent art collection.
77 Falling Men; 3 Falling Women; 1 Falling Bird, Horse and Cow; One Man on Fire
This piece is based on copyright-free comic book figures from Western comics published in Canada and the United States in the 1940s and 50s.
Cutting these figures from their comic book stories—stories always of the lawless Western frontier—they are in free fall: falling through time and space, and falling through the history that brought them here. Just as they are physically falling, flailing, they are morally falling. Originally created in a time when the cowboy was the uncomplicated hero of white settler stories, I see them as relics of the myths settlers told and continue to tell to rewrite history. But, free of context, free of the mythology that holds them up, they are just white men and women, falling.
Each figure has been lifted from its comic book story, scanned, the line-work redone (each figure takes over 15 hours of work), colours corrected, wear and tear unworn and untorn, their partial bodies often made whole by stitching them together with scraps.
This is a limited edition giclee print (25 prints) on acid-free archival paper with pigment-based inks. Available in three sizes:
· 24” X 24”: $275 + shipping
· 36” X 36”: $450 + shipping
· 42” X 42”: $600 + shipping
Contact me to see the whole piece (the image here is cropped) and to confirm pricing.
Acquired in 2023, this piece is also part of the City of Ottawa’s permanent art collection.