Turner Carroll Gallery Art Insights: March 2016

Scott Greene, "FUBAR", 2007

Antonello da Messina, "Crucifixion", 1475, National Gallery, London

There is the moral of all human tales;

‘Tis but the same rehearsal of the past.

First freedom and then Glory--when that fails,

Wealth, vice, corruption--barbarism at last.

And History, with all her volumes vast,

Hath but one page…

-Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812-1818)

Allegory painters are the prophets of each generation. They use familiar images to convey weighty social or political concepts relevant to their specific time in history. They reflect the world back to us as it is, but with their own fantastical understanding of where it is headed. Scott Greene is one such painter. He uses familiar imagery, like the landscape, detritus of human life, and animals, to remind us of how our presence on this planet impacts nature. He paints all these subjects with such exquisite beauty, that we cannot help spending great amounts of time contemplating his messages. Greene says of his work:

I employ the language and finish of classical painting, deriving inspiration from both art history and the contemporary social environment, in order to examine and satirize the relationships between politics and nature, and between beauty and the unpleasant.

Greene’s painting, "FUBAR" (F’d Up Beyond All Repair, from military slang), uses the allegory of the crucifixion to portray how contemporary mankind has “crucified” the environment. He was inspired by a crucifixion painting from over 500 years before, by Antonello da Messina. While Messina's painting features an idealized landscape in the background, Greene portrays a bombed-out Iraqi landscape in the background of "FUBAR". His cross is draped with extension cords and discarded electrical gadgets, to assert our national over-extension in the Middle East at that time.

Scott Greene, "SNAFU", 2015, Turner Carroll Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, “Portrait of Countess D'Haussonville.” 1845, Frick Collection, New York

In "SNAFU" (military slang for Situation Normal, All F’d Up), an overflowing suitcase becomes an allegorical symbol for our generation’s decadent opulence. I see the suitcase as an overstuffed container of human life, spilling out the excess we have accumulated. I am reminded of a formal painting by Ingres, from the early days of Industrial Revolution. Ingres paints the young countess wearing a gorgeous blue silk dress; satin ribbons in her hair. The interior in which she stands is adorned with rich furnishings and flowers. She seems young, hopeful, and confident about her future. In Ingres’ painting, the earth had not yet been severely polluted by industry, so there was a lot of prosperity and possibility on the horizon. But by 2015, when Greene painted "SNAFU", humankind had definitely “F’d Up” the environment. Marshmallows are strewn on the dirty ground; the only green in site is discarded fabric or carpet, standing in for the absent grass. A pink chemical bonfire burns from thrown out pipes.

Greene writes of the painting:

"SNAFU" is a parable of sorts about making the best of a bad situation. It depicts a make-shift bivouac with a blazing campfire for warmth. Wood appears to be scarce, so a pile of PVC pipes are used instead. Bits of food and debris are strewn about, with all the fix’ns for some very smoky s’mores. I was inspired by a homeless person (possibly a whole family) who established an encampment in our irrigation ditch last summer. It was a very organized campsite, with tarps, suitcases, backpacks and cooking utensils. Because of the nature of the objects (specifically food and fire) and their close proximity, I also see this belonging to the genre of vanitas painting - meaning art that reminds people of mortality and that material things are ephemeral.