eric humphries
Why atrocities?...
I
have always had a strong attraction to art and music with a social or
political message. After trying several different approaches to painting I
decided to incorporate what I saw in the news and everyday wrongs into
the art that I created. The original
Atrocities were painted totally in
primary colors and are therefore
known collectively as"The Primaries".
These deep blue night time scenes
with their bright yellow and red
punches of color dealt with general
occurrences, such as police violence
government oppression, and
suicide bombing.
Another step in the evolution of the Atrocities came in the form of
complex story telling. Confronted with the full stories of atrocious               
                                                             occurrences, I found myself            
                                                             stretching long canvases to            
                                                             paint full stories read from left to    
                                                             right. I call these paintings "The     
                                                             Panoramics" for their elongated     
                                                             dimensions.
            With new paintings came new ideas. First the                        
                   addition of more colors. Dark night time scenes                       
                   gave way to bright daylight. Buildings, clothing,                        
                   and vehicles took on their real colors and the                          
                   early generalized topics became real                                       
                   occurrences, such as the raping of Nanking                             
                   during World War II, and the dropping of the                            
                   atomic bomb on Hiroshima. These are called the                     
                   "Single Event" paintings.
Please Note. All Images on this site
are my exclusive property and should not be used for any
purpose without my written permission. To obtain permission,
please e-mail
Paintedatrocities@yahoo.com
And finally, the current stage of
evolution consists of series of equal
sized canvases,  numbering usually from
three to eight, that together detail the
stages of one large historical event, such
as, the African- American struggle for
liberation.