LIMITED COPIES AVAILABLE A New Role for Ship Models

Visitors to Alexis Rockman: Oceanus might notice some familiar watercraft gracing the ocean’s surface in the central work, Oceanus. Sixteen of the twenty-two vessels featured were painted from models in the Museum’s collection. The vessels, painted in chronological order, help to tell the story of the complex relationship between humans and the oceans.

Rockman worked extensively with the curatorial staff to select the models for Oceanus. His vision was to represent a variety of different types of vessels that have impacted our waterways. In the process, staff carefully retrieved models that fit the artist’s criteria for painting, and Senior Museum Photographer and Digital Imaging Specialist Joe Michael photographed each one to Rockman’s specifications. The job involved Michael shooting from unusual angles, often on the floor. With the help of multiple staff members, he was able to get the perfect shots for the artist while keeping the models, often with their delicate rigging exposed, safe and secure.

Each vessel or vessel type in the painting represents a story: the skin boats of the Indigenous peoples of the Arctic, built to maneuver through icy waters; fishing vessels representing different types of fisheries and fishing methods; passenger vessels harkening to past voyages; and the global work of a container ship. Other vessels symbolize the crimes of the slave trade or the treacherous journey of modern refugees. Some watercraft the artist depicted were painted from models or vessels at other institutions. For example, the dugout featured is based on the Pequot muhshoon, Nookumuhs (Grandmother), on display at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center.

One of the most recognizable and striking vessels in the painting is the seven-masted schooner, Thomas W. Lawson. Built in 1902 and famous for being the largest schooner and sailing vessel without an auxiliary engine ever built, it was converted to a bulk tanker in 1906. The Lawson wrecked in the Isles of Scilly during a 1907 storm, and more than two million barrels of paraffin oil were released into the Celtic Sea from the disaster, making the wreck of the Lawson one of the first recorded petroleum-cargo spills from a ship. The Lawson model (ca. 1923), built by Thomas Rosenkvist, along with several others will be on display during the run of the exhibition, telling just one of the many stories of Oceanus

Krystal Rose, Curator of Collections

Alexis Rockman: Oceanus, published by Rizzoli, is a beautifully produced 160page exhibition catalogue in which our expert contributors examine Rockman’s Oceanus series through the lens of their respective disciplines, which range from activist to scientist to artist to historian to global sea explorer. Many of the authors had discussions with the artist during the process to lend guidance and advice on relevant elements to include and explore within the paintings. $50.00

To order your copy, visit mysticseaport.org/oceanus