Death of an Oil Tanker: Prestige (1976-2002) , triptych,
11 x 11 inches each panel
Winner of "Best of Show" at the 15th Annual Maritime Exhibit, Coos Art Museum, Coos Bay, Oregon, 2008; j uror's Award, Bay Area Annual juried Exhibition at Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, California, 2005. The sequence of scenes depicted in this triptych shows the breaking apart of the 42, 820-gross-ton tanker Prestige off the coast of Spain. The 2 002 oil spill.from Pres tige caused the Largest environmental disaster in Spain's history. Twenty million gallons ofoil p oured into the sea when the hull split in half, devastating the fishing industry and ecology of the entire coastline off Galicia. Four years Later in 2 006, oil slicks in the vicinity ofthe Prestige wreck site were still being detected.
defin e the complex lines of rhese m assive seagoing monoliths, especially cargo ships, wirh rheir multi-colored container loads. Tugs and fishing boars usually exhibit shapes and character nor generally found in recreational vessels. While I am attracted to rhe appearance of rhese large shi ps and wo rking boats, there is a sociopolirical aspect to rhem as well, on which I have chosen to co mment th ro ugh my an . In 2010, approximately ninety percent of rhe wo rld's goods are rranspo rred by ship, and rhe U ni red Srares has been and is srill a m aritime nation even iffew people consider rhis fac r. These ships and working vessels represent the globally dependent culture and economy rhar we inhabit, rransponing goods from around rhe planer, while burning rhe dirriesr crude oil ro accomplish their wo rk. While we enj oy being excessively mobile in our ca rs, ir's the oil ra nkers th ar have allowed us rhis luxury, ye r rhey have also been rhe source of some of rhe worst ecological disasters. Several of my paintings show rhe single hull tanker known as rh e Prestige before and after it broke up off th e coast of Spain and Ponugal in late 2002. This was an enviro nmental disaster of severe m agni tude, and ir pollu ted rhe entire coastline of Spai n, ruining the fi shing and shellfish industry fo r a very long rime. O f course, we now have far worse spills, like rhe explosion of the D eepwater
Import/Export #1 , 12 x
12 inches, oil on canvas
A fu lly Laden cargo ship whose name is Less important than its p urpose, to bring goods in and out of US ports.
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SEA HISTORY 133 , WINTER 20 10-11