Twilight of Empires

This painting depicts Monrovia's Aztec Hotel, designed by architect Robert Stacy-Judd, and erected in 1925. I have named it Twilight of Empires as it depicts the decline and decay of at least 3 empires, the Aztec (or Mayan), the Spanish, and the American. The flamboyant decoration of the building is layered on in movie-set fashion, and has not fared well over the decades, just as it's inspiration has been similarly, though less rapidly, degraded by time. The figures, added from another photo, represent the decline of American (or white American, at least) hegemony. They are perhaps Mesoamerican, perhaps Polynesian. The chaotic pattern of the woman's dress mimics the chaotic detailing of the building. The child's hand is pointing perhaps to the future, perhaps to the decaying edifice, perhaps to the gods above, ever ready to quash human folly. I have changed the building number on Barber Shop to coincide with the end of the Mayan calendar.

Perhaps fittingly, the hotel now has Chinese owners.

Pay to Play; the New Normal

You won't be seeing my urban landscapes, such as Wonder Shops, above, in Southwest Art magazine, because, even though I was selected to be part of a group feature on urban landscapes, I did not elect to pay the $2000 advertising fee that would have guaranteed my inclusion. This seems to be a growing trend, as publications seek to replace declining ad revenue by soaking aspiring artists. There are plenty out there, so this vein may be recession-proof. But it calls into question any editorial integrity these publications may have had. Cheap digital publishing has made survey annuals ("The World's Most Wonderful Artists of 2013", etc.) feasible, so that anyone can get in those by buying a page. And at least one gallery in my area has adopted the model, charging artists for the privilege of hanging on their walls (or being stacked in the back racks).

One wonders, will the day come when artists are like political candidates: the only ones we get to see are those with deep pockets? When money becomes the final arbiter, whither art?