Artist Explores The Alter Egos Of Pop Culture's Most Famed Masked Men (NSFW)

To most, "The Lone Ranger" is an American icon -- a cowboy vigilante whose masked visage became synonymous with the glory of the old west. Artist Dotty Attie explores the folk figure's simultaneous embodiment of seduction and violence in her exhibition aptly titled "The Lone Ranger," effectively unmasking masculinity in the process.

"Worst Case Scenario" 2012-13. Courtesy of the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery, New York

Since the 1970s, Attie has deconstructed popular iconography to better explore the gender politics and ideals that pulse beneath the surface. Attie's exhibition springs from a series of found photographs, turned into black-and-white, subversive paintings. Running from left to right, the monochromatic artworks form visual sentences that use old fashioned imagery to explore its more treacherous after-effects.

Many of Attie's other works continue exploring the allure of violence, incorporating images like electric chairs and shootings in her old-timey, sleek aesthetic. Another work, entitled "Masked Men," depicts a series of -- you guessed it -- masked men. Depicting baseball catchers to soldiers to Batman himself, Attie toys with the disguises and costumes that permeate everyday life. At once threatening, heroic and sometimes absurd, the masked man continues to dominate not only the fictional world but the real world as well.

In 1972 Attie was one of the founding members of A.I.R Gallery, one of the first artist-run galleries for women. For her 9th exhibition at PPOW Gallery, she effectively unmasks the Lone Ranger, and the masked men who live in his image, with the power of art.

"Worst Case Scenario" 2012-13. Courtesy of the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery, New York

"Worst Case Scenario" 2012-13. Courtesy of the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery, New York

"Assistance Needed" 2012-13. Courtesy of the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery, New York

"Curious Places" 2012-13. Courtesy of the artist and P.P.O.W Gallery, New York

Dotty Attie's "The Lone Ranger" will run from November 21 until December 21, 2013 at PPOW Gallery in New York.