”Men of Steel” delves into many issues in contemporary life: Race, immigration, sexism, gender and human frailty are all part of the picture.
"Origin Stories" introduction to the exhibition, these social realism works depicting strong men hovering over cities on steel beams and a 1935 oil painting of muscular laborers illustrate the tropes the comic book artists were familiar with: mighty men doing mighty things. Here also is a 19th century poster of a strongman in tights and wide belt. The familiarity of that strongman image in the popular mind made Superman instantly understood as someone whose strength was out of the ordinary: an American god.
Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter, which is part of Crystal Bridges’ collection, illustrates the reality that images of strong women must include feminine elements, too: A muscular Rosie wears lipstick; powerful Wonder Woman is sexy. The dichotomy — sex symbol/power symbol — is one explored throughout the show.
Mary Beth Edelson looks at Wonder Woman as part of female deities whose power is only mythical in “Exile,” a monumental work in acrylic, fabric and collage. It’s a complex tapestry of sorts that puts our distaff superhero amid Aphrodite, Athena, Eve, the Virgin Mary and the short-lived Goddess of Freedom erected in Tiananmen Square.
The artists of “Men of Steel” take advantage of the fact that both Wonder Woman and Superman are immigrants — Wonder Woman from the island of Themyscira and Superman from Krypton (which exploded, making him a refugee as well).