Mark Stilwell presents “The Super Defense Force vs The Tittanno Beast (The Power of the Constructonauts),” an installation and performance at Open Source Gallery.

“The Super Defense Force vs The Tittanno Beast” is a series created in installments by Stilwell along with a group of like-minded artists and musicians. Co-written by father-son duo, Charlie and Scott Adkins, the series follows the Constructonauts, super-powered robotic builders of the utopian cities of the future. In the latest installment, “The Power of the Constructonauts,” problems erupt when the Constructonauts build their latest city on ancient ground, spawning a powerful and deadly strain of Tittanno Beast called the Kreonoids. The series takes inspiration from childhood nostalgia and the fantasies through which children examine the real world. “The Super Defense Force vs The Tittanno Beast” shows the influence of Japanese animation, giant monster movies, and comic books. Through storytelling, fantasy, and performance, Stilwell addresses social issues related to class inequalities, aggression, and anxiety.

Stilwell creates installations of painted cardboard that serve as environments for performance and video. Monsters and robots created out of cardboard and recycled materials, live experimental music, and shadow puppetry are used by Stilwell’s collaborators to weave stories within the miniature cities. Collaborators in “The Power of the Constructonauts” include musician Brian Olin, performance artist John Mejias, musician Yoko Stilwell, artist Ethan Crenson, and performer Chris Paisley. Children playing the parts of monsters and robots participate in the creation of the storyline and performance, interacting with the tiny cityscape and each other.

Mark Stilwell earned MFA from Pratt Institute. His solo exhibits include the “Super Defense Force" at Front Room Gallery in Brooklyn and “Recess and Sugar Highs” at the Pratt Institute Gallery in Brooklyn. Stilwell has also exhibited extensively in New York at the Brooklyn Museum, The Front Room, New York Foundation for the Arts, Puck Gallery, and the Williams Art and Historical Center. In 2002, he was awarded a fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts.

*image (left)
Super Defence Force vs The Tittanno Beasts Transformation of Omega Redeemer, 2013
Video still
courtesy of the artist