The History of the World: Phase 2b

Abstract

History is an artificial construction that reflects actual events but can never fully convey its multiplicity and complexity. The translation of historical texts into pictorial form leaves gaps where the visual details were, thus leaving space for personal interpretation and consciously constructed anachronism. The very act of painting is an exercise in historiography: writers of history perform the act of “filling in” whenever they create a tidy story from real, disjointed events. A painting style that proclaims its subjectivity calls attention to the inherently authored qualities of historical accounts.