The Recent Drawings: An Overview
Narrative structures
Mark Lombardi
In 1994 I began a series of drawings I refer to as “narrative structures.” Most were executed in graphite or pen and ink on paper. Some are quite large, measuring up to 5×12 feet.
I call them “narrative structures” because each consists of a network of lines and notations that are meant to convey a story, typically a recent event of interest to me, like the collapse of a large international bank, trading company, or investment house. One of my goals is to explore the interaction of political, social, and economic forces in contemporary affairs. Thus far I have exhibited drawings on BCCI, Lincoln Savings, World Finance of Miami, the Vatican Bank, Silverado Savings, Castle Bank and Trust of the Bahamas, Nugan Hand Limited of Sydney, Australia, and many more.
Working from syndicated news items and other published accounts, I begin each drawing by compiling large amounts of information about a specific bank, financial group, or set of individuals. After a careful review of the literature I then condense the essential points into an assortment of notations and other brief statements of fact, out of which an image begins to emerge.
My purpose throughout is to interpret the material by juxtaposing and assembling the notations into a unified, coherent whole. In some cases I use a set of stacked, parallel lines to establish a time frame. Hierarchical relationships, the flow of money, and other key details are then indicated by a system of radiating arrows, broken lines, and so forth. Some of the drawings consist of two different layers of information—one denoted in black, the other in red. Black represents the essential elements of the story while major lawsuits, criminal indictments, or other legal actions taken against the parties are illustrated with red. Every statement of fact and connection depicted in the work is true and based on information culled entirely from the public record.
Recommended Reading
James Ring Adams, The Big Fix: Inside
the S & L Scandal (New York: Wiley, 1990).
Jonathan Beaty and S. C. Gwynne,
Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret
Heart of BCCI (New York: Random House,
1993).
Michael Binstein and Charles Bowden,
Trust Me: Charles Keating and the
Missing Billions (New York: Random House,
1993).
Alan Block, Masters of Paradise:
Organized Crime and the IRS in the
Bahamas (New Brunswick, NJ:
Transaction Pubs, 1991).
Theodore Draper, A Very Thin Line:
The Iran-Contra Affairs (New York: Hill &
Wang, 1991).
Rachel Ehrenfeld, Evil Money: The Inside
Story of Money Laundering and Corruption
in Government, Banks and Business (New
York: Shapolsky, 1992).
Nicholas Faith, Safety in Numbers:
The Mysterious World of Swiss Banking
(New York: Viking, 1982).
Stephen Fay, Beyond Greed: the Hunt
Family’s Bold Attempt to Corner the Silver
Market (New York: Penguin, 1983).
Alan Friedman, Spider’s Web: The
Secret History of How the White House
Illegally Armed Iraq (New York: Bantam,
1993).
Thomas Gladwin and Ingo Walter,
Multinationals Under Fire (New York:
Wiley, 1980).
Mark Hulbert, Interlock: The Untold
Story of American Banks, Oil Interests,
the Shah’s Money, Debts, and the
Astounding Connections Between Them
(New York: Richardson & Snyder, 1982).
Robert Hutchison, Vesco: The Story of
the Biggest Securities Fraud of Modern
Times—the Looting of IOS (New York:
Praeger, 1974).
Herbert Krosney, Deadly Business:
Legal Deals and Outlaw Weapons—The
Arming of Iran and Iraq, 1975 to the Present
(New York: Four Walls Eight Windows,
1994).
Jonathan Kwitny, The Crimes of Patriots:
A Rue Tale of Drugs, Dirty Money and the
CIA (New York: Norton, 1987).
Jonathan Kwitny, Endless Enemies:
The Making of an Unfriendly World (New
York: Penguin, 1984).
Penny Lernoux, In Banks We Trust:
Bankers and their Close Associates—The
CIA, the Mafia, Drug Traders, Dictators,
Politicians and the Vatican (New York:
Anchor, 1984).
Peter Mantius, Shell Game: A True Story
of Banking, Spies, Lies, Politics and the
Arming of Saddam Hussein (New York: St.
Martins, 1995).
R. T. Naylor, Hot Money and the Politics of
Debt (New York: Linden Press / Simon & Schuster,
1994).
Steven Pizzo, Mary Fricker, and Paul Muolo,
Inside Job: The Looting of America’s
Savings and Loans (New York: McGraw Hill,
1991).
Anthony Sampson, The Arms Bazaar From
Lockheed to Lebanon (New York: Viking,
1977).
William Shawcross, The Shah’s Last Ride:
The Fate of an Ally (New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1988).
James B. Stewart, Den of Thieves (New
York: Touchstone. 1992).
Nick Tosches, Power on Earth: Michele
Sindona’s Explosive Story (New York: Arbor
House, 1986).
Peter Truell and Larry Gurwin, False
Profits: The Inside story of BCCI (New York:
Houghton Mifflin, 1992).
Lawrence E. Walsh, Iran-Contra: The Final
Report of the Independent Counsel (New
York: Times Books, 1994).
Ingo Walter, Secret Money: The World of
International Financial Secrecy (Lexington,
MA: Lexington Books, 1985).
Steven Wilmsen, Silverado: Neil Bush and
the Savings and Loan Scandal (Washington,
D.C.: National Press Books, 1991).
Mark Lombardi lived and worked in New York. His estate is represented by Pierogi Gallery, New York.