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	<title>Observer &#187; The Villains That Gotham Deserve? Street Art Questions Validity of Superheroes</title>
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		<title>Observer &#187; The Villains That Gotham Deserve? Street Art Questions Validity of Superheroes</title>
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		<title>The Villains That Gotham Deserve? Street Art Questions Validity of Superheroes</title>

		<comments>http://observer.com/2012/08/the-villains-that-gotham-deserve-street-art-questions-superheroes-validity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2012 18:03:59 -0400</pubDate>
					<link>http://observer.com/2012/08/the-villains-that-gotham-deserve-street-art-questions-superheroes-validity/</link>
			<dc:creator>Drew Grant</dc:creator>
				
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://observer.com/?p=258978</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://observer.com/2012/08/the-villains-that-gotham-deserve-street-art-questions-superheroes-validity/batman2/" rel="attachment wp-att-258981"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-258981" title="batman2" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/batman2.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="253" /></a><br />
Every summer, studios seem to come out with another gritty reboot of a comic book classic that serves only to remind us how messed up these masked vigilantes actually are. Batman is a Howard Hughes-esque psycho with a martyr complex and an uncanny ability to cause so much damage to Gotham's infrastructure that it's not even worth the price of catching the bad guys; Spider-Man is a brooding, emo geek with an infected hand; Wolverine is an alcoholic with anti-social tendencies, and Tony Stark is just an alcoholic. </p>
<p>As Alan Moore once famously cribbed from Roman poet Juvenal: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/267623-quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes-who-watches-the-watchmen">Who watches the watchmen</a>? Today, SVA grad <a href="http://www.skyegreenfield.com/">Skye Greenfield</a> is papering the <a href="http://www.boweryboogie.com/2012/02/stop-superheroes-on-the-lower-east-side/">Lower East Side</a> with Wanted posters for superheroes that go one step further, accusing our childhood heroes of the most heinous crimes imaginable.<br />
<!--more--><br />
"It started as a thesis project in college, when I would photograph the toys of a kid I was babysitting for," Ms. Greenfield told <em>The Observer</em> by phone after we called the number listed on an enigmatic poster exclaiming "<a href="https://twitter.com/StopSuperheroes">Stop Superheroes Now!</a>" after accusing Spider-Man of stalking Lois Lane. </p>
<p>"But the project never felt finished, and after I graduated, it just hit me. I was creating this fantasy world where superheroes are outlaws. We live in the world where we villainize and criminalize the people who are supposed to be our role models."</p>
<p>While not exactly a new concept--Christopher Nolan explored a similar theme in his <em>Dark Knight</em> reboots--Ms. Greenfield's choice of medium was interesting. Why paper the town with flyers? Was this still part of an ongoing art project?</p>
<p>The 22-year-old admitted that she was currently just collecting the stories of people who sent in tips to the email address she provided on the sheets. </p>
<p>"The best one was this high school student," she remembered. "He wrote this page-long story about all these horrible things he saw Superman do. They were ridiculous. He stole his grandmother's fake hip, and he stole  a Ferris wheel with full of orphans, but he couldn't tell if the orphans were screaming or laughing. It was insane."</p>
<p>Though based in fantasy, Ms. Greenfield's work does have a message. "I want us to think about those bigger figures we look up to, and how we go along with whatever they tell us. From our parents to people on a podium, citizens believe whatever someone in a place of authority tells them."</p>
<p>Despite this credo, Ms. Greenfield claims her work isn't exceptionally political. "I just want people to join me in the quasi-fantasy world," she said, before adding, "But if someone said they wanted to put me in a gallery or make a book about me, I'd be all for it."</p>
<p>Click through to see the rest of the Stop Superheroes Now project.</p>
]]></description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://observer.com/2012/08/the-villains-that-gotham-deserve-street-art-questions-superheroes-validity/batman2/" rel="attachment wp-att-258981"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-258981" title="batman2" src="http://nyoobserver.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/batman2.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="253" /></a><br />
Every summer, studios seem to come out with another gritty reboot of a comic book classic that serves only to remind us how messed up these masked vigilantes actually are. Batman is a Howard Hughes-esque psycho with a martyr complex and an uncanny ability to cause so much damage to Gotham's infrastructure that it's not even worth the price of catching the bad guys; Spider-Man is a brooding, emo geek with an infected hand; Wolverine is an alcoholic with anti-social tendencies, and Tony Stark is just an alcoholic. </p>
<p>As Alan Moore once famously cribbed from Roman poet Juvenal: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/267623-quis-custodiet-ipsos-custodes-who-watches-the-watchmen">Who watches the watchmen</a>? Today, SVA grad <a href="http://www.skyegreenfield.com/">Skye Greenfield</a> is papering the <a href="http://www.boweryboogie.com/2012/02/stop-superheroes-on-the-lower-east-side/">Lower East Side</a> with Wanted posters for superheroes that go one step further, accusing our childhood heroes of the most heinous crimes imaginable.<br />
<!--more--><br />
"It started as a thesis project in college, when I would photograph the toys of a kid I was babysitting for," Ms. Greenfield told <em>The Observer</em> by phone after we called the number listed on an enigmatic poster exclaiming "<a href="https://twitter.com/StopSuperheroes">Stop Superheroes Now!</a>" after accusing Spider-Man of stalking Lois Lane. </p>
<p>"But the project never felt finished, and after I graduated, it just hit me. I was creating this fantasy world where superheroes are outlaws. We live in the world where we villainize and criminalize the people who are supposed to be our role models."</p>
<p>While not exactly a new concept--Christopher Nolan explored a similar theme in his <em>Dark Knight</em> reboots--Ms. Greenfield's choice of medium was interesting. Why paper the town with flyers? Was this still part of an ongoing art project?</p>
<p>The 22-year-old admitted that she was currently just collecting the stories of people who sent in tips to the email address she provided on the sheets. </p>
<p>"The best one was this high school student," she remembered. "He wrote this page-long story about all these horrible things he saw Superman do. They were ridiculous. He stole his grandmother's fake hip, and he stole  a Ferris wheel with full of orphans, but he couldn't tell if the orphans were screaming or laughing. It was insane."</p>
<p>Though based in fantasy, Ms. Greenfield's work does have a message. "I want us to think about those bigger figures we look up to, and how we go along with whatever they tell us. From our parents to people on a podium, citizens believe whatever someone in a place of authority tells them."</p>
<p>Despite this credo, Ms. Greenfield claims her work isn't exceptionally political. "I just want people to join me in the quasi-fantasy world," she said, before adding, "But if someone said they wanted to put me in a gallery or make a book about me, I'd be all for it."</p>
<p>Click through to see the rest of the Stop Superheroes Now project.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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