Limelight — May 2017

[ VISUAL ART]

92 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au

OPANORAMA

Our LandsAn exhibition featuring

works that explore the tensions,

conflicts, suspicions and political

struggles central to land rights

debates in Australia.Art Gallery of

New South Wales, until June 18

Bill HensonPresenting recent

photographs selected by the artist

himself, encompassing themes

including portraits, nudes and

landscapes.National Gallery of

Victoria, until August 27

Defying EmpireSurveys the

practice of 30 Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander ar tists from

across the country.National

Gallery of Australia, Canberra,

May 26 – September 10

ALSO ON

THIS MONTH...

VISUAL ARTS

Since the 2008 filmIron Man,

theMarvelfranchisehasbeenapowerfulforce

incinema.Inlessthanadecade,theMarvel

CinematicUniverse–basedoncharactersthat

appear in the Marvel comics – has boasted 14

film titles, with two more to be released by

July and the 17th film,Thor Ragnarok,(which

features Cate Blanchett) coming to cinemas in

November.Brisbane’sGalleryofModernArtis

celebratingwithamajorexhibition–thelargest

Marvelexhibitioneverpresentedinanart

museumworldwide–featuringmorethan500

objectssuchasprops,costumesandconcept

artaswellasmovingimagesfromthefilms.

FeaturingiconicobjectssuchasThor’s

hammer,IronMan’sarmourandCaptain

America’s shield,Marvel:CreatingtheCinematic

UniversewillfocusonCaptainAmerica,Iron

Man,Thor,HulkandtheAvengers–with

Doctor Strange, Ant-Man and the Guardians

oftheGalaxyalsomakinganappearance–

drawingonMarvel’sepicmythology.

For the exhibition’s curator, Amanda

Slack-Smith, it is this mythology that has

driven the popularity of the franchise.

“There are these grand narratives that mirror

ourworldbutaren’tofourworld,”she

explains.“AndthethingwithMarvelisthat

they’vealwaysverymuchsetitwithinreal

cities–inManhattanorpartsofNewYork–

soithasthisresonanceofrealitytoit.”

It seems that the very potency of the

characters is a big part of the films’ resonance

with audiences. “These characters rise

above and face confrontation and issues and

complexity in a way that somehow manages

to find resolution,” Slack-Smith says. “They

actuallyusetheirpowersforgoodandsee

awaythroughasituation.Ithinkpeople

feel very disempowered in general, and I

think there is something about that cathartic

releaseofactuallywatchingthefilmsand

seeing resolution of an issue.”

Anotherpartoftheallure,Slack-Smith

explains, is the interconnectedness of the

films and the verisimilitude of the universe

created.“It’salmostlikealayercake,”she

says, “everything interrelates. When Thor

is trying to find his hammer, it’s the same

time as Iron Man is being held hostage

in Afghanistan. The character relationships

aresointerlaced.Thatithasthatlevelof

consistencyacrossthatmanyfilms–the

continuity–isreallyamazing.It’skind

of wild that they’ve managed to sustain

thatforthatlengthoftime.”

With so many different films and

characters to explore, Slack-Smith had to

findawayofapproachingtheuniversein

awaythatwouldbedigestibleforagallery

audience.“OneofthethingsIwaskeen

to do was break down the demarcations of

individual films and look at the narrative – to

dowhatthefilmsaretryingtodo,whichisto

lookattheuniverseasamoreholisticspace.”

“TherearesomanylayerstotheMarvel

universe,”shesays.“You’retryingtopullall

theseelementstogethertotellarichnarrative.It

wasaprocessofeliminationandloveandcare,

and discussions with Marvel and the team here.”

There are also unique logistical challenges

tosettingupanexhibitionlikethis,notleast

becauseMarvelhasfourorfivefilmsonthe

boilallatonce.“Thesearelivingpropsand

costumes,” Slack-Smith says. “Everything

Marvel-ous exhibition comes to GOMA

Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe will give audiences a peak behind the screens

Captain America, Civil War, 2016 The Avengers, 2012

PREVIEW

Rodney Fuentebella (left) Adi Granov (right) / Keyframes / © 2016 & 2012 MARVEL