{"data":{"id":"7340","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":7340,"topgoose_id":1687,"tms_id":7340,"display_name":"Mark Lombardi","sort_name":"Lombardi Mark","display_date":"1951–2000","begin_date":"1951","end_date":"2000","biography":"\u003cp\u003eConceptual artist Mark Lombardi’s\ndelicate pencil drawings chart the webs of\npower and influence that interweave\ngovernments, individuals, and corporations,\nas well as various crime and conspiracy\nnetworks. In the early 1990s Lombardi\nbegan researching scandals of the time in\nthe financial and political realms, from\nthe Vatican Bank and Savings and Loan\ncrises to Harken Energy and Iran Contra,\nas well as the vast network of intrigues\nsurrounding BCCI (Bank of Credit\nand Commerce International), which had\ncome under the scrutiny of financial\nregulators and intelligence agencies and\nwas ultimately found to be involved in\nmassive money laundering.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/collection/works/12916\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBCCI-ICIC \u0026amp; FAB, 1972–91 (4th\nVersion)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e visually traces the bank’s web of\nfinancial connections, which had far-\nreaching political implications. While he\nwas inspired by the information design\nof statistician and political scientist Edward\nTufte, Lombardi’s maps—which he called “narrative structures”—do not function\nas examples of data visualization per se.\nRather than simplifying, the drawings\nadd complexity to the understanding of\ninterconnected networks, and their visually\ncompelling arcs and looping lines have\ncaused them to be compared to celestial\nor navigation charts. Solid or dotted\nlines create abstract fields of connection\nsuggested by information found in\nnewspaper or television accounts, while\nverifiable information culled from court\njudgments typically appears in red.\nNotable for both their formal structure and\nconceptual potency, the drawings have\nalso attracted official attention: in the wake\nof the September 11, 2001, attacks,\nthe FBI contacted the Whitney regarding\u003cem\u003e\nBCCI-ICIC \u0026amp; FAB, 1972–91 (4th Version)\u003c/em\u003e,\nin which information regarding the financial\nnetworks of Osama bin Laden appears.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":false,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500329201","wikidata_id":"Q314444","created_at":"2017-08-30T16:35:22.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-12T07:00:31.132-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/7340/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/7340/exhibitions"}}}}