MICHELANGELO / DOROTHEA LANGE. 

1994.  Oil (24 X 30),  Nfs.           

                       

ARTIST’S COMMENT:  This work is my signature piece and represents the beginning of my excursion into the nature of western civilization.  While drawn to the Great Books and the Renaissance, I found myself deeply rooted in the culture of the American thirties, having  witnessed parts of the great migration passing through  my home town. 

                  I would soon learn through research that the glory of western civilization was built on myths and lies that covered up social injustices that were perpetrated in the name of freedom, democracy and national security.  At its base was the glory and freedom of conquest, the self-given right to plunder resources, enslave people and commit genocide.

            I turned from Western classicism to American realism and the Mexican muralists.