The Marvel rendition of Tim Gunn.
POTTSTOWN PA – If you watch the television fashion reality show “Project Runway;” if the phrase “Make it work!” sends you racing for a pair of pinking shears; if you secretly still read comic books rather than full-length novels; or if you know “Iron Man” named a superhero before it described a triathlon, this is probably right up your alley.
Until Nov. 25 (2009; Wednesday), the Gallery On High, 254 High St., Pottstown PA, will display an original piece of artwork from the comic book series “Models Inc.,” published earlier this summer by Marvel Comics (the company that made Spiderman a household name) and featuring the likeness of “Project Runway” fashion guru Tim Gunn.
Gunn, who is the former chairman of fashion design at Parsons The New School of Design in Manhattan, has turned the phrase “Make it work!” into a metaphor for perseverance. He was transformed into a comic book character in the August series. In its story, Gunn helps other fashion models solve a murder by wearing the impenetrable armored suit of Iron Man.
How the artwork got to Pottstown is a different story entirely, the opening line of which reads, “it’s always who you know.”
Cathy Paretti, director of the Gallery On High, is mother of son John Paretti, who is book market coordinator for the comics publisher’s parent company, Marvel Entertainment. John Paretti knows “Models Inc.” artist Jorge Molina, who supplied the artwork. The Parettis know Brian Williams, who is the custom framer in “Your Claim To Frame,” the on-site frame shop at Gallery On High, and who framed the piece now on display.
And together, sometime after Thanksgiving, the Parettis will visit Gunn in New York to present him with the framed art.
The public gets to see it first, though. Gallery admission is free. It’s open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and is closed Sundays and Mondays.
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