David Barnhill and Stephen Rueff, from SuperMonster市City!will be here to talk about America’s Monsters, Superheroes and Villains: Our Culture at Play. They provide in-depth insights and nuances on the featured toys, their creators, and their cultural context. This exhibit intertwines history, the art of play, and pop culture themes to explain social and political trends from the past eighty years.

Thank you to Sponsor APEX Engineering, Eau Claire, WI.

The exhibit reveals five powerful themes:

• Unintended Consequences: The Atomic Age & America’s Identity Crisis
• Truth, Justice, and the American Way: The Superheroes Who United a Nation
• Innocent Monsters: Our Empathy for Outsiders
• With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: The Hero as Martyr
• Myths & Legends: How Star Wars Saved America

Curated by Stephen Rueff, the exhibit unpacks how these fantastical figures became symbols of America’s place in the world—and mirrors of who we thought we were.

Rueff explains that “this presentation isn’t just a toy box trip down memory lane—it’s a cultural X-ray of America’s psyche! From Cold War paranoia to Atomic Age optimism, for over 80 years, these iconic pop culture characters have reflected our deepest fears, lived out our wildest dreams, and wrestled with the biggest questions about power, identity, and hope in American history.”

The presentation is included with admission.

For more information contact Diana Peterson at d.peterson@cvmuseum.com | 715.834.7871.