If masculinity were a bubble, Mark Newport would pop it. He has the knitting needles to get the job done. His hand-knitted, 6-foot, 8-inch tall hero suits line the walls and step out in the gallery space to mingle with visitors at the Greg Kucera Gallery.
The artist looks like a mild-mannered nerd, which is why the photos of him knitting his way through his superhero fantasies are compelling.
Alter Egos: At the Game
Just dreaming of them works too.
Alter Egos: Cowboy
Through Feb. 13.
Why is it that it’s fine to make fun of men but unacceptable to do that to women?
HA HA!!!! Knit! Is that the only pony in his show, the one he’s riding?
Funny prints and nice looking knitting! When you say they step out to mingle do you mean that one can get inside and wear the suits?
Oh, whine, whine, Irwin. Of course it’s acceptable to make fun of women. This is art, not a garden club. Save your self-pity for your mates.
Hello Ahk: I meant some suits are hanging in the space of the gallery normally peopled by visitors. I assume these suits could be worn, but only by the tall and skinny.
He’s dreaming of Richard Prince, who he’ll never catch. Good work.
Mark Newport isn’t critiquing male stereotypes, he’s in love with them. What makes his work good is that he’s in love with male stereotypes, but they don’t include him.
Actually, the suits are sized for the artist who is 6 feet tall. They are made of acrylic yarn that has a bit of stretch to it when knitted. They look taller and thinner because they are simply hanging on coat hangers, limp and inert, waiting symbolically for use as protection against unknowable dangers. Newport occasionally wears them for his photos and print tableaux or for performances where he knits in public.
Along with the embroidered comic covers they subvert some aspects of male culture while embracing others.