>>PREVIEW
THE SHATNER SHOW
Opens June 15
UPPERCASE Gallery (Art Central)
Though he’s spent much of his career as an object of obsessive adulation for Trekkies and good-natured mockery for the rest of the public, the new millennium has been kind to William Shatner. The man who would be Kirk finally earned his first Emmy and Golden Globe, both for his performance as TV lawyer Denny Crane. His musical career, previously represented only by the misunderstood but still unintentionally hilarious Transformed Man, was rekindled by longtime friend Ben Folds, resulting in the well-liked 2004 effort, Has Been. Everything the 76-year-old has touched of late seems to turn to gold.
Shatner’s post-millennial rebirth makes some sense. This is, after all, a man who auctioned off his own kidney stones for charity. This is a man who, when asked to make a celebrity playlist for iTunes, filled nearly half the list with his own songs. In an interview with Conan O’Brien, Shatner told the audience that for Halloween one year, he went out in two William Shatner masks, and would remove them one at a time on people’s doorsteps. If any celebrity can be said to embody the irony, self-awareness and droll humour of the modern world, you could do worse than Shatner.
Artist Janine Vangool came to this same realization while listening to Has Been on a car trip with her husband, Glen Dresser. They were discussing ideas for upcoming shows at Vangool’s Uppercase Gallery in Art Central when the notion of a Shatner-themed show struck. The more they talked about it, the more the idea of a visual tribute to Shatner made sense.
"He has such a diverse career, he’s done so many different kinds of jobs," Vangool says of the Montreal-bred actor. "Of course, Captain Kirk is an iconic character and has a certain visual style. Then there’s the T.J. Hooker era, and all the other weird things he’s done more recently, like the Priceline commercials, that game show that came and went, and hosting Iron Chef America. There’s just so much fodder for inspiration and imagination, to interpret his life in a really visual way."
With the idea of the Shatner Show firmly established, Vangool’s next step was to see if any other artists were interested. The reaction was overwhelming – within a week, she had 20 artists from across the continent agreeing to take part. Before long, the project had blossomed into Vangool’s most ambitious to date: 76 artists, one for each year of Shatner’s life, would contribute pieces to a three-month art show, all of which would be collected in the first book to be published under the Uppercase imprint. And to top it all, an opening gala that will convert Art Central into a make-shift USS Enterprise, with elevators-cum-transporters, Star Trek costumes and even spoken-word karaoke.
Not everyone was instantly sold on the idea of the Shatner Show. While Vangool has been flooded with positive responses, there are also those who just don’t see it. "Some people can’t stand him," Vangool laughs. "It’s a very distinct reaction. I have people in my family who can’t stand him. Like my grandfather – ‘I can’t stand that guy.’ He’s impressed that so many people are involved (in the show), and he can see the appeal from a pop culture standpoint, but he’s not a fan. And I’ve had a few people come into the gallery and say, ‘Why Shatner?’ It’s fine if they don’t appreciate Shatner as a pop culture icon."
Most of the people who hear about it – particularly the artists – find Shatner to be a natural fit. Some, like local sculptor Jackie Bagley, didn’t even wait to be invited to take part in the project. Rather, Bagley insisted on her involvement, citing her recent stint as an art director on the Shatner-helmed made-for-CBC mountaineering drama Everest as proof she was fated for the Shatner Show.
"He just seemed to fill the room, in a good way," Bagley says of her brief dealings with Shatner. "He was very relaxed, very at ease and good natured, and just had this presence that kind of went out in front of him. Just a really great stage presence – he commands the room."
More than his presence, though, what really won Bagley over was Shatner’s good-natured approach to celebrity. In the face of a fan base that threatens to make a cynic out of even the saintliest, Shatner has never lost his grace.
"The art director I worked with, he was a huge fan of William Shatner. There were three actors that he named that he wanted to meet in his lifetime, and one of them was William Shatner," Bagley explains. So when that art director ran into Shatner coming out of his trailer, and they ended up posing together in a photo, "for him, it was a really big deal."
For illustrator Joy Ang, Shatner’s appeal comes from the breadth he’s shown both on and off the screen. Her piece shows how the actor has transformed from a dashing young man to a lecherous septuagenarian, but her research for the piece gave her a respect that goes beyond Kirk or T.J. Hooker.
"I’m interested in just how versatile he can be," Ang says. "I think he’s a funny guy. He can do so many things, and he’s in so many different movies. He likes to breed horses, which I thought was funny. He takes up all these different hobbies. He’s a cool guy."
That versatility has inspired a host of varied pieces. Anyone who attends the Shatner Show, which runs from this Friday through the end of August, will be struck by just how many interpretations there can be of one man’s life. There are traditional portraits, graphic novel-style illustrations, even a bust made entirely of Lego. The show represents some of the top illustrative talent in North America, all brought together in honour of a Canadian expat who’s managed to outgrow even his own celebrity.
Apparently, no one is more baffled by this than the man himself. While Vangool hasn’t yet managed to talk to Shatner directly, he did pass on this message that is now proudly emblazoned in the book’s introduction:
"Every artist has their muse. Leonardo was inspired by the ceiling in the great chapel. Michelangelo found his art in the Italian marble. Who am I to stand in the way of all these fine artists and artisans who want to use my lumpy, aging face for inspiration? Some creators love a great sunset; some have in mind my bloodshot eyes. Nevertheless, out of awe, amusement, or pity, you should come and see this unique show." |
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