by Richard Jochum, video performance, Athens 2009.
Atlas is the Greek God and Titan who led the rebellion against Zeus for which he was condemned to bear the heavens upon his shoulders. The story has it that he became the personification of endurance. The short video picks up on the ancient legend and continues a series of trials, tribulations, and enactments by the Austrian sculptor and media artist Richard Jochum.
Atlas goes Superman takes the theme one step further and melts the American superhero motif Superman with ancient Greek mythology, home of many potent ueberheros and crafty Gods. Where Atlas had to be turned on his head, Superman does it with a simple rotation: pushing the planet while flying midair.
The artist is digging his way through the territory of global mythology and combines European and American culture. Atlas as Superman has been performed in Athens in the ancient Agora in May 2009 and is the sequel to Atlas (2008 ongoing) and Sisyphus on Vacation which was performed 2006 in the Austrian Alps and first shown in 2007.
