Star Wars Celebration 2022 Art Show Celebrates The Entire Saga
Sometimes art inspires "Star Wars," and sometimes "Star Wars" inspires art. There's a give-and-take that's been going on with the franchise and the art world for years, and that trend continues as we approach "Star Wars Day" (May the 4th be with you) and the annual "Star Wars" Celebration event.
This year, "Star Wars" Celebration is returning to Anaheim, California, the home of Disneyland and the site of the 2015 Celebration event. It's also continuing the tradition of the "Star Wars" Celebration Art Show, and StarWars.com has a look at some of the pieces that will be on display.
These pieces will be available to own as a limited-edition run of prints, with 200 of each going on sale for pre-order at DarkInk.com from now until Monday, May 16, 2022, at 12 p.m. PT. Even if they sell out and you're not able to get a copy of the one you want, 50 more of each will be on sale at Celebration in the Anaheim Convention Center from May 26–29, 2022.
Below, we'll make a quick jump through hyperspace and take a look at five of the "Star Wars"-themed pieces that are on offer.
Star Wars Celebration art
The piece above is "A Night with the Max Rebo Band" by Asia Ellington, who describes it as "a playful, jazzy, colorful depiction of the band performing at Jabba's palace."
You'll notice that the three alien dancers to the right of singer Sy Snootles are the ones from the "Return of the Jedi" Special Edition. That means they could be performing "Jedi Rocks," though Snootles' duet singing partner, Joh Yowza, is off to the side and not up in our face with his uvula like he usually is during that song.
"A Night with the Max Rebo Band" somewhat reminds me of the "Rhapsody in Blue" sequence from Disney's "Fantasia 2000," and of course, "Star Wars" is now owned by Disney.
Another eye-catching piece is "Reflective Power" by Al Abbazia. This one depicts a little girl playing in front of a mirror with a reflection of Rosario Dawson's live-action version of Ahsoka Tano from "The Mandalorian" and "The Book of Boba Fett."
Ahsoka has her own limited Disney+ series on the way, and "Reflective Power" seems to make a statement about the value of seeing someone who looks like you represented in media. Abbazia said that she and her own daughter came up with the concept of "a child looking up to their hero, feeling confident and empowered."
"A Grand Army" by Joe Hogan recalls the pop art of Andy Warhol, like "Marilyn Diptych," his famous 1962 silkscreen painting of Marilyn Monroe.
The piece depicts 66 clones of Boba Fett's surrogate father, Jango Fett, including what appears to be un-helmeted versions of an old and young Boba himself. Though don't shoot me with a blaster pistol if I'm wrong about that, because I admittedly haven't seen "The Clone Wars" animated series and am going off memory of the live-action "Attack of the Clones" movie and "Book of Boba Fett" TV series.
Circling back to Disney again, I enjoy how "Date Nite at Black Spire Outpost" by Brian Miller evokes the feel of a poster for one of Disney's theme park lands — which is appropriate, since it does depict the outpost from "Star Wars" Galaxy's Edge.
I'm not sure if they have these in the U.S. at Disneyland or Disney World, but at Tokyo Disneyland, when you exit the Star Tours ride, they also have posters inviting you to visit "Star Wars" locations like "beautiful Bespin" or "cosmopolitan Coruscant." For "Date Nite at Black Spire Outpost," Miller said he was "inspired to create a vintage-style illustration celebrating the thrill and romance of Black Spire Outpost under starlight."
Finally, "Beacon of Hope" by Adam Schickling puts the late Carrie Fisher front and center. As Princess Leia, she's rocking her signature hair buns from the original "Star Wars" movie, and her face looms larger than life over the royal awards ceremony on Yavin (still no medal for Chewbacca).
Schickling says, "This piece captures the strength of the young princess who, against all odds, formed a friendship with a farm boy, a smuggler, a Wookiee, and a pair of droids to destroy the Death Star and defeat the Empire."
To see more pieces from the 2022 "Star Wars" Celebration Art Show, head on over to StarWars.com.