"How Far Can You Stretch the Ego?" Collage With Social Commentary by Mickey "Kano" Kane

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"how far can you stretch the ego?" Collage with Social Commentary

Elaborate mixed media collage by Mickey "Kano" Kane (American, … Read more "how far can you stretch the ego?" Collage with Social Commentary

Elaborate mixed media collage by Mickey "Kano" Kane (American, 20th century). A large biomorphic form, evocative of a uterus, sits in the center of a pale yellow background textured with areas of soft white paper. The edges of the form are supported by collaged on images of candlesticks. Within the form are a variety of painted and collaged details, which are evocative of east Asian textiles and art. At the center of the form is the head of a women in a full face of western-style makeup with the words "performing the art of self expression" in her hair. Below her, are the main words of the piece, "how far can you stretch the ego? all the way OM." This piece appears to be a critique on the commodification and subsequent performativity of eastern spirituality, indicated by both the art styles and presence of "OM," by Western audiences, portrayed in the female figure found in the center.

Signed and dated "Kano" and "1992" bottom right.
Paper size: 19.94" H x 28.38" W

Mickey “Kano” Kane (American, 1939-2002) was born in Illinois and grew up in Sacramento, CA. Kane moved to the Pacific Coast and worked on mixed media panels - which he would refer to as a “Totem” – and detailed collage compositions. His collage work is generally satirical or critical in nature, frequently dealing with themes of money, capitalism, government, power, and debt. By contrast, his “Totem” sculptural work is abstract and free of direct symbolism, focusing instead on the aesthetics of the composition.

Original Member, Artist’s Cooperative Gallery

Artist’s Statement:
The Totem is indicative of the unfolding 21st Century, graphically and metaphorically. It is neither one side nor the other, nor does one side challenge or compete with the other. Each side cooperates and thus enhances the other so that both "sides" transcend that definition into a composition revealing that, indeed, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Totem reflects the inner harmony that all sides, whether two or two thousand, are striving to manifest in their own inimitable way. See less