A few weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, an FBI agent called the Whitney Museum of American Art and asked to see a drawing on exhibit there. The piece was by Mark Lombardi, an artist who had committed suicide the year before. Using just a pencil and a huge sheet of paper, Lombardi had created an intricate pattern of curves and arcs to illustrate the links between global finance and international terrorism.
In other drawings, Lombardi explored subjects ranging from the collapse of the Vatican bank to the Iran-Contra scandal. The results are not only detailed slices of history, but also works of art -- some looking like constellations of stars on a dark night, others swirling clouds of abstract lines and points.
NPR articleIn other drawings, Lombardi explored subjects ranging from the collapse of the Vatican bank to the Iran-Contra scandal. The results are not only detailed slices of history, but also works of art -- some looking like constellations of stars on a dark night, others swirling clouds of abstract lines and points.
Why suicide?
In a video of the artist shown at the exhibition, Andy Mann asked Lombard in February 1997, “Do you fear for your life?â€
Lombardi didn’t answer the question. Instead he said, “This is a way I can map the political and social terrain in which I live.â€
According to his friends, Lombardi told them that he was being followed -- just before his death.
...Artist Mark Lombardi (1951-2000), whose business card ironically read "Death Defying Acts of Art and Conspiracy," was found dead in his studio, officially declared a suicide in the police report. Or as government whistleblower Al Martin, author of "The Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran Contra Insider" (http://www.almartinraw.com) says, "The guy put together one chart too many."
Martin was retained by attorney Frank Rubino, defense counsel for Panamanian strongman Antonio Noriega, to produce a chart for the courtroom, which would explain the complex relationships between individuals and offshore companies, etc. The 5’ x 9’ chart was topped off by a color photo of former president George Herbert Walker Bush and Antonio Noriega embracing one another, both giving a victory sign to the camera. It should be noted that US troops under George Bush invaded Panama, then hijacked Noriega to Florida, where he was convicted of drug charges. Noriega is still in prison to this day.
"When they set up this chart in the courtroom, the judge said, what's that? We had Bush connected to this drug operation," recalls Martin.
Martin says that later CIA operative Frank Snepp joined the defense team (Rubino himself was a former CIA agent) and gave daily reports to George Bush Sr. on how the trial against Noriega was proceeding. Martin says he overheard him on the phone talking to Bush in Rubino's office.
"I was real naive," says Martin about his participation in the Noriega trial. "I made the assumption that this is what they wanted" -- to have a flow chart of personnel, covert operations, as well as banks and other front companies and how the schemes actually worked. Martin notes that they didn’t really expect him to use the real names of people and front companies
"Investigative reporter Dave Lyons from the Miami Herald told me this is what people can understand," Martin continues. "Graphs and charts help the average person understand complex conspiracies
Martin jokingly concludes, "Charts and graphs -- bad. Shredders – good."
articleLombardi didn’t answer the question. Instead he said, “This is a way I can map the political and social terrain in which I live.â€
According to his friends, Lombardi told them that he was being followed -- just before his death.
...Artist Mark Lombardi (1951-2000), whose business card ironically read "Death Defying Acts of Art and Conspiracy," was found dead in his studio, officially declared a suicide in the police report. Or as government whistleblower Al Martin, author of "The Conspirators: Secrets of an Iran Contra Insider" (http://www.almartinraw.com) says, "The guy put together one chart too many."
Martin was retained by attorney Frank Rubino, defense counsel for Panamanian strongman Antonio Noriega, to produce a chart for the courtroom, which would explain the complex relationships between individuals and offshore companies, etc. The 5’ x 9’ chart was topped off by a color photo of former president George Herbert Walker Bush and Antonio Noriega embracing one another, both giving a victory sign to the camera. It should be noted that US troops under George Bush invaded Panama, then hijacked Noriega to Florida, where he was convicted of drug charges. Noriega is still in prison to this day.
"When they set up this chart in the courtroom, the judge said, what's that? We had Bush connected to this drug operation," recalls Martin.
Martin says that later CIA operative Frank Snepp joined the defense team (Rubino himself was a former CIA agent) and gave daily reports to George Bush Sr. on how the trial against Noriega was proceeding. Martin says he overheard him on the phone talking to Bush in Rubino's office.
"I was real naive," says Martin about his participation in the Noriega trial. "I made the assumption that this is what they wanted" -- to have a flow chart of personnel, covert operations, as well as banks and other front companies and how the schemes actually worked. Martin notes that they didn’t really expect him to use the real names of people and front companies
"Investigative reporter Dave Lyons from the Miami Herald told me this is what people can understand," Martin continues. "Graphs and charts help the average person understand complex conspiracies
Martin jokingly concludes, "Charts and graphs -- bad. Shredders – good."
Lombardi's drawings simply and elegantly mapped out the secret deals and suspect associations of financiers, politicians, corporations and governments. Thirteen lines in the chart originate with or point to James R. Bath, Bush family friend and US representative of the bin Ladens, more than any other name presented. Among those linked to this obscure yet central character are George W. Bush, Jr, George Bush, Sr, Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas, Governor John B. Connally of Texas, Sheik Salim bin Laden of Saudi Arabia and Sheik Salim's younger brother, Osama bin Laden. On the evening of 22 March 2000, Mark Lombardi was found hanged in his loft. His long-time friend, Andy Feehan, like many of his friends, was mystified by Mark's death: "When the news of Mark's death arrived, all of us thought that he was murdered. We assumed that he had made one too many accusations, and that someone made a phone call. We still don't know what happened. We'd read that the medical examiner ruled Mark's death a suicide, but we're unable to understand or accept the idea that Mark would kill himself right when he was at the top of his game."
Global Complexity articleArtists are temperamental.
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