I wish I could afford even one of these Mike Leavitt sculptures. His King Cuts are 18″ tall sculptures made from wood and polymer clay and impressively carved into the likenesses of his 16 favorite film directors of all time (an excellent selection). Humorously and accurately outfitted with props from their films, he has created 16, several of which are still available for purchase.
Mike Leavitt’s King Cuts
Great film directors get cut up. They take pains with the details, story, money and sacrifices to their vision. Their body succumbs to the pressure. So Mike Leavitt carved Tarantino, Kubrick, Scorsese and more physically consumed by their work. Hitchcock, Coppola and others are cut from blocks of wood like directors cut a take or reel. There’s a risk of mistakes with every slice. Directors commit to a story at every cut. Leavitt unmasks wizards behind the camera like Spielberg and David Lynch to get a taste of their own medicine. ‘King Cuts’ are totems of satire and devotion to the 16 best storytellers ever.
Ranging from Orson Welles to Wes Anderson, they are impeccably crafted. These images don’t do the artworks justice. Leavitt’s choices for their bodyparts, wardrobes and props are spot on. His handling of nuances like skin color and texture are perfection.
After carving the bulk of the figure from wood, Mike adds and blends polymer clay, hand paints it in acrylic and mounts it on a wall-mounted plaque complete with base and steel name plate.
Alfred Hitchcock
18 inches at length. Carved in 100% Western Red and Yellow Cedar wood. Acrylic painted finish. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Stanley Kubrick
18 inches tall. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar wood, 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Wes Anderson
18 inches tall. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar wood, 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Martin Scorsese
18 inches tall. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar wood, 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. With acrylic eye glass lenses. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
George Lucas
18 inches at length. Carved in 100% Western Red and Yellow Cedar wood. Acrylic painted finish. With steel eye glass frames and acrylic saber. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Orson Wells
18 inches tall. Carved in 95% Western Red Cedar, Douglass Fir and White Pine wood. Acrylic painted finish. With aluminum rails and acrylic globe. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Quentin Tarantino
18 inches tall. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar and White Pine wood. 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Spike Lee
18 inches tall. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar wood, 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. With acrylic eye glass lenses. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Francis Ford Coppola
18 inches tall. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar wood, 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. With steel eye glass frames. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Tim Burton
18 inches tall.Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar, White Pine and Basswood. 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. With acrylic eye glass lenses. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
James Cameron
18 inches at length. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar, Douglass Fir and White Pine wood. 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Kathryn Bigelow
18 inches tall. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar wood. 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
David Lynch
18 inches tall. Carved in 80% Western Red Cedar wood, 20% polymer clay. Acrylic painted finish. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Steven Spielberg
18 inches tall. Carved in 100% Western Red Cedar wood. Acrylic painted finish. With steel eye glass frames. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Hayao Miyazaki
18 inches tall. Carved in 100% Western Red Cedar wood. Acrylic painted finish. With acrylic eye glass lenses. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
Woody Allen
18 inches tall. Carved in 100% Western Red Cedar wood. Acrylic painted finish. With acrylic eye glass lenses. Includes 26 x 13 inch wood, acrylic painted wall-mounting plaque with base and steel name plate.
“I carved of 16 all time best film directors. These are 1:4 scale, each is 18 inches tall or wide, sculpted from scratch in wood and polymer clay by myself in my garage. Each is painted with acrylic and carved from 80 to 100% wood. Smaller details, faces and hands are sculpted in polymer clay blended into wood. Many of these sculptures are available to purchase.” – Mike Leavitt
Each of the original sculptures costs $7,200. and can be purchased here. A little steep for you? Then be sure to check out his much, much more affordable 4″ 3D printed versions at Shapeways here.
Generously and diligently recording his processes, Mike posts ‘making of’ videos, sketches and photos of each of his sculptures in progress on Instagram and Youtube.
Here’s a nice interview about the artist and his collection.
