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Roger Brown
Past and Future Art, 1989Oil on canvas48 x 72 in
121.9 x 182.9 cm7433Further images
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Brown's interest in the long trajectory of human creative development recurred frequently throughout his career, but never so all-encompassing as in 'Past and Future ARt.' The six-panel comic book inspired...Brown's interest in the long trajectory of human creative development recurred frequently throughout his career, but never so all-encompassing as in "Past and Future ARt." The six-panel comic book inspired composition charts human history through time and space, progressing both from past to present and (primarily) from East to West, starting in Ancient Egypt and continuing through to (then) contemporary America. Clearly wishing to indicate a direct continuity from one era to the next, rather than just making each panel an isolated snapshot of a moment in time, Brown creates an implied continuation of his clouds, foliage, and the horizon from image to image as if we're seeing an unbroken landscape, each window on a different era. Brown's personal interest in travel and architecture is once again on display in the painting, the final panel in particular featuring a building looking very much like Chicago's "Sears Tower," which had been built shortly after Brown's time at the Art Institute of Chicago, changing Chicago's skyline forever. -
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