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Nicolas Silberfaden: Superheroes

Due to the current economic, social and cultural crisis in The United States of America today, I have decided to do a photographic project consisting of a series of studio portraits of superhero and celebrity impersonators that live and work in the city of Los Angeles. Most of them unemployed Americans, they decided to suit up with their costumes and hit the streets, animate parties and events in efforts to make ends meet. Making them pose in their costumes against a colorful backdrop, I ask them to manifest feelings of genuine sadness – honest emotions that are a consequence of our current times. The result is a somber, striking visual image that contradicts the iconic nature of strength and moral righteousness typical in American superhero and celebrity imagery. Creating the illusion that Superman does exist – that he too was fallible and affected by America’s downturn.

Nicolas Silberfaden
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06 Dec 2012 12:13:00
Flight crews of German airliner Lufthansa wear traditional Bavarian folk dress during a photocall to celebrate Oktoberfest at Munich Airport Franz-Joseph-Strauss International on September 15, 2022 in Erding, Germany. Lufthansa cabin crew will dress in the Bavarian traditional costume  “Blaudruck Dirndl“ and “Lederhose” on several international flights during the Oktoberfest who kicks off this coming weekend and will run for three weeks. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Flight crews of German airliner Lufthansa wear traditional Bavarian folk dress during a photocall to celebrate Oktoberfest at Munich Airport Franz-Joseph-Strauss International on September 15, 2022 in Erding, Germany. Lufthansa cabin crew will dress in the Bavarian traditional costume “Blaudruck Dirndl“ and “Lederhose” on several international flights during the Oktoberfest who kicks off this coming weekend and will run for three weeks. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
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07 Dec 2023 05:01:00
Fumie Takino, 89, founder of a senior cheer squad called Japan Pom Pom, and other members pose for commemorative photos before filming a dance routine for an online performance in Tokyo, Japan, April 12, 2021. “It's dancing; moving your body is nice”, Takino said. “And the costumes are unbelievably showy. Some people join just so they can wear them”. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Fumie Takino, 89, founder of a senior cheer squad called Japan Pom Pom, and other members pose for commemorative photos before filming a dance routine for an online performance in Tokyo, Japan, April 12, 2021. “It's dancing; moving your body is nice”, Takino said. “And the costumes are unbelievably showy. Some people join just so they can wear them”. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
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06 May 2021 08:30:00
A man wearing a costume of the StarWars protagonist Din Djarin poses in front of a giant replica of the Razor Crest, a gunship from the StarWars spinoff series “The Mandalorian” used by the hit TV show's mysterious bounty hunter to roam the galaxy's outer reaches, in a park of the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Evgeniy Sofroneyev/AFP Photo)

A man wearing a costume of the StarWars protagonist Din Djarin poses in front of a giant replica of the Razor Crest, a gunship from the StarWars spinoff series “The Mandalorian” used by the hit TV show's mysterious bounty hunter to roam the galaxy's outer reaches, in a park of the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Evgeniy Sofroneyev/AFP Photo)
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19 Jan 2022 06:09:00
A woman dressed in traditional costumes jumps over a bonfire to commemorate the day of Santa Agueda in Andavias, Spain, on February 6, 2022. In the province of Zamora it is quite a tradition, the women take over the city and the towns to gain control in the province, the councils give them the batons as a sign of authority, they celebrate around 7 days of festivity where they dance, eat, live the festival and honor Santa Agueda. (Photo by Manuel Balles/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A woman dressed in traditional costumes jumps over a bonfire to commemorate the day of Santa Agueda in Andavias, Spain, on February 6, 2022. In the province of Zamora it is quite a tradition, the women take over the city and the towns to gain control in the province, the councils give them the batons as a sign of authority, they celebrate around 7 days of festivity where they dance, eat, live the festival and honor Santa Agueda. (Photo by Manuel Balles/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)
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07 Feb 2022 07:38:00
This year's Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention both saw passionate delegates in outrageous costumes – but that's where the similarities mostly end. Reuters photographer Jim Young gives a look at what it's like to be on the convention floor and talks to the delegates who make the conventions memorable. Here: George Engelbach, delegate from Missouri, Impersonator of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, poses for a photograph at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, United States July 20, 2016. Engelbach's message to the presidential nominee is: “I hope you will appoint all Conservative Supreme Court Justices”. (Photo by Jim Young/Reuters)

This year's Republican National Convention and Democratic National Convention both saw passionate delegates in outrageous costumes – but that's where the similarities mostly end. Reuters photographer Jim Young gives a look at what it's like to be on the convention floor and talks to the delegates who make the conventions memorable. (Photo by Jim Young/Reuters)
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29 Jul 2016 12:10:00
Revellers dance at Notting Hill Carnival on August 29, 2016 in London, England. The Notting Hill Carnival, which has taken place annually since 1964, is expected to attract over a million people. The two-day event, started by members of the Afro-Caribbean community, sees costumed performers take to the streets in a parade and dozens of sound systems set up around the Notting Hill streets. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

Revellers dance at Notting Hill Carnival on August 29, 2016 in London, England. The Notting Hill Carnival, which has taken place annually since 1964, is expected to attract over a million people. The two-day event, started by members of the Afro-Caribbean community, sees costumed performers take to the streets in a parade and dozens of sound systems set up around the Notting Hill streets. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
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30 Aug 2016 12:08:00
In this Thursday, May 25, 2017 photo, Donte, a musician who only gave his first name, straightens out dollar bills on his first day in a brand new Chewbacca costume purchased from eBay for $441, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Donte said he replaced the old one because he wasn't making any money with it. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)

In this Thursday, May 25, 2017 photo, Donte, a musician who only gave his first name, straightens out dollar bills on his first day in a brand new Chewbacca costume purchased from eBay for $441, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. Donte said he replaced the old one because he wasn't making any money with it. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)
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11 Aug 2017 07:37:00