Tag Archives: Empire Peaks

Yes, it Exists: Hillary Clinton as an Imperial Stormtrooper

Hillary Stormtrooper
Photo By Gail

To find out more about this sculpture of Hillary Clinton in a Stormtrooper uniform, which was part of Michael Leavitt’s 2013 art exhibit, Empire Peaks, visit This Link. Hillary for the win in 2016!

Yes, it Exists: Donald Trump as Darth Vader

Trump Vader
Photo By Gail

No, this isn’t a mash-up tie-in for The Force Awakens and racist douche Donald Trump’s mortifying horrorshow of a campaign to win the Republican Presidential nomination; it’s an actual artwork by Seattle-based artist Michael Leavitt, that appeared in his 2103 exhibit, Empire Peaks. For this exhibit, which was shown at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in NYC, Leavitt created action figures of celebrities, politicians, humanitarians and other famous non-fictional personalities crossed with Star Wars characters, juxtaposing the classic archetypal roles found in Yoda, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader, etc. With Trump, I think he really nailed it.

Must See Art: Michael Leavitt’s Empire Peaks

Abraham Lincoln as Han Solo
Abraham Lincoln as Han Solo By Michael Leavitt (All Photos By Gail)

File this one under “Must See Art” because you won’t want to miss Michael Leavitt’s latest exhibit at Jonathan Levine Gallery, entitled Empire Peaks. Continuing with the theme he did to perfection with Art Army Royalty back in 2011, Leavitt’s latest collection of  what could loosely be called pop culture action figures takes a Star Wars theme and turns that wildly popular franchise’s characters into recognizable icons of history, politics and entertainment. The show is totally off the hook! Even if you’re not  a total Star Wars geek  (raises hand) you’re going to enjoy the high-quality representations of some very recognizable individuals, both real and fictional.

There’s not really much more to be said except that you’ve to go see this show! Here are some of my favorite pieces from the exhibit.

Donald Trump as Darth Vadar
Donald Trump as Darth Vadar

Kim Jong Il as Jabba the Hut
Kim Jong Il as Jabba the Hut

R2D2 and C2PO
 Steve Jobs as C3 PO and Albert Einstein as R2D2

Ghandi as Yoda
Mahatma Gandhi as Yoda

Martin Luther King as Luke Skywalker
Martin Luther King as Luke Skywalker

The Sucklord

The Sucklord was in attendance at the opening reception! You may know The Sucklord from his appearance on season two of Bravo’s Work of Art, or from his line of unlicensed Star Wars parody toys, marketed under the name Suckadelic. He was pretty cool to talk to.

Hillary Clinton as a Stormtrooper
Hillary Clinton as a Stormtrooper

Obama as Lando Calrissian
President Barack Obama as Lando Calrissian

Mandela and Oprah
Nelson Mandela as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Oprah Winfrey as Padmé Amidala

You can tell even from these photographs that the detail is absolutely impeccable on all of these figures. Not only does each figure look exactly like its real-life counterpart, but Leavitt perfectly captures the essence of each Star Wars character in the melding of the two individual identities. High-fives all around on this one.

Michael Leavitt’s Empire Peaks will be on Exhibit Through December 21st, 2013 at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Located at 529 West 20th Street, 9th Floor, NYC, in the Chelsea Gallery District.