If life were a comic book, what would it look like? Would the heroes be glossy, standing tall and ready for action? Not Anthony Lister's super heroes. His artwork explores the dark depths of heroism, reflecting the unglamorous aspects of life as we know it--the fallen heroes. Perhaps that is because when growing up he didn't exactly have many positive role models in the drug culture of his childhood in Australia.
He paints the world as he sees it, through his eyes, through his children's eyes, and through the eyes of the television, which he often states as one of his major influences. In Lister's world, super hero icons like Superman and Spiderman appear to be haggard, or strung out on the real world, having dealt with the harsh realities of life that come with super-herodom.
Television itself has a way of glamorizing and glossing pop culture, and Lister's paintings are a commentary on that notion. The way he juxtaposes and distorts the characters in his pieces allude to deeper themes, although he has often said there is no symbolism in his work. "I'm not triyng to change the world, I'm reacting to the world triyng to change me," he said in a video interview.
Lister's work has become a well known fixture in the underground low brow art movement of comic-like paintings and street art, another one of Lister's passions. His work has been exhibited in various places like London, New York and California.
Check out his web site for more Anthony Lister
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