Mark Lombardi
1951–2000
Conceptual artist Mark Lombardi’s delicate pencil drawings chart the webs of power and influence that interweave governments, individuals, and corporations, as well as various crime and conspiracy networks. In the early 1990s Lombardi began researching scandals of the time in the financial and political realms, from the Vatican Bank and Savings and Loan crises to Harken Energy and Iran Contra, as well as the vast network of intrigues surrounding BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International), which had come under the scrutiny of financial regulators and intelligence agencies and was ultimately found to be involved in massive money laundering.
BCCI-ICIC & FAB, 1972–91 (4th Version) visually traces the bank’s web of financial connections, which had far- reaching political implications. While he was inspired by the information design of statistician and political scientist Edward Tufte, Lombardi’s maps—which he called “narrative structures”—do not function as examples of data visualization per se. Rather than simplifying, the drawings add complexity to the understanding of interconnected networks, and their visually compelling arcs and looping lines have caused them to be compared to celestial or navigation charts. Solid or dotted lines create abstract fields of connection suggested by information found in newspaper or television accounts, while verifiable information culled from court judgments typically appears in red. Notable for both their formal structure and conceptual potency, the drawings have also attracted official attention: in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, the FBI contacted the Whitney regarding BCCI-ICIC & FAB, 1972–91 (4th Version), in which information regarding the financial networks of Osama bin Laden appears.
Introduction
Mark Lombardi (March 23, 1951 – March 22, 2000) was an American neo-conceptual artist who specialized in drawings that document alleged financial and political frauds by power brokers, and in general "the uses and abuses of power".
Wikidata identifier
Q314444
Information from Wikipedia, made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License . Accessed April 27, 2025.
Country of birth
United States
Roles
Artist
ULAN identifier
500329201
Names
Mark Lombardi
Information from the Getty Research Institute's Union List of Artist Names ® (ULAN), made available under the ODC Attribution License. Accessed April 27, 2025.
