Superman versus Darth Vader: The Back Story

One Friday afternoon in elementary school, Keith Bowman had his first moment of clarity. That morning an impromptu art contest was announced. The rules were simple. The drawing had to be a scene from the movie Star Wars. Tracing was not permitted. Judging would be done by the class at the end of the day.

As the hours wore on, the classroom began to buzz with opinions on the talents of the three expected finalists, Bobby Spalding, Mike Richardson, and Keith Bowman.

Bobby was a natural, but among fifth graders, considered to be more of a doodler than a serious artist. Mike and Keith were given the advantage.

By early afternoon, the air smelled of anticipation and Bubblicious gum. Early but unofficial polls had Mike as the clear favorite, and either Bobby or Keith in second, depending on which side of the room the note originated from.

Finally it was time to judge the work. Each artist taped his drawing to the blackboard, and the room exploded in laughter.

Bobby had done a fine rendering of C3PO and R2D2. Mike created a jaw-dropping masterpiece of Darth Vader fighting Obi-Wan. As a bonus, he included a TIE fighter shooting down an X-Wing fighter as well as the lesser-known Y-Wing. Check and mate.

Keith had drawn Superman. Superman destroying Darth Vader with his heat vision.

The laughter humiliated Keith, and the inclusion of non-Star Wars subject matter disqualified him. But at that moment, he began to understand. Art is not about the execution of the expected but the exploration of the possible.

The images in this show are a reaction against creative limitations. The work is a testament to intellectual freedom and the joy of pure creativity.

The work defies a world where Superman can't fight Darth Vader.


Superman versus Darth Vader: The Process

The work of this exhibit was created using the Print Gocco system. In the 1970's Noboru Hayama, a printer and the Japanese inventor of the "print gocco" system, wished to develop a quick and easy household color printing system. Cleverly combining the basic principles of screen-printing and rubber-stamping, "print gocco" is a clean, easy, and fully self-contained compact system that exposes and prints all in one unit. Using flash bulbs similar to those found in old cameras, an original image is thermally imprinted on a master screen. Next, colorful prints are made by pressing the ink-applied master screen against a sheet of paper placed on a sponge pad.

Since the Gocco printer is basically a screen printer, each print is unique due to various factors such as, ink clogging, registration and so forth. These factors make the process of printing so addictive to us. We are constantly surprised at how the slight imperfections add to the character of the work.

www.savegocco.com


The Design Bureau of Amerika

The Design Bureau of Amerika lacks a buzz-word laden mission statement and long winded bios. Put simply, The Bureau is the collective efforts of designers Keith Bowman and Ty Burrowbridge. Originally started by Keith in 2003 The Bureau produces quality design for the masses by the few.
www.DesignBureauofAmerika.com