Singapore, Michigan (large-scale painting)

[Jacobv]

Large for me, at least!

A writeup on the piece:

Near the mouth of the Kalamazoo River in a densely forested area, Singapore was founded in 1836 with the intention of becoming a port city on par with Chicago. As a lumber industry was birthed and developed over the next four decades, the destruction along the shores of Lake Michigan in October of 1871 became a turning point in the fate of Singapore.

For three days in early October of 1871, fire eradicated over three square miles of Chicago; the predominantly wooden architecture lending itself to the widespread damage. Less commonly known are the three other major fires occurring on the same days which destroyed large portions of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and both Manistee and Holland, Michigan. In total, thousands were killed, miles of city and thousands of miles of forests were leveled by the same fire that took Chicago.

Singapore and the natural resources harbored by their lumber industry were quick to act, assisting several different communities with materials for rebuilding. As an oversight of limitation, Singapore's supply was exhausted less than a few years later. With the key industry having run out of fuel, the town was almost completely abandoned. Because the forests around Singapore were cleared, winds from the lake began to push the sand dunes on the shores back into the town, covering it completely less than five years after the last person left. Nothing remains visible of the town today.

Daniel Danger had wanted a piece for his collection ever since I did one for his Devil Town show out west. While this isn't a direct response to that work, it is under the same roof as anything in my Arbor series at my portfolio site. I heavily document pieces for a few reasons, so here's some behind-the-scenes on this particular work:





worked up surface, a lot of layers.



deep and meaningful shot (slow studio day)





"Color was added in blossoming formations on isolated portions of the panel, and then chained together by a sequence of color shifts that considered the underlying layers of grid and markmaking."



















full:



VIDEO:

[caribou]

really nice. how big is it?

[peter worth]

Gorgeous. Great video work too.

[Jacobv]

thank you,

its about 3x4' on risers

[mikeage]

this is very cool. is it going to be on display in chicago any time soon?

[Jacobv]

its on its way to boston sometime this week (to be put on the wall in a home). still haven't shown anything in chicago but we'll see what happens this coming year

[craig]

jesus wept.

[TWOFOUR]

Beautiful.

[farleypig]

this is utterly incredible. truly truly beautiful.
love the back story too - have always been very interested in the chicago fires and the checker boarding of lumberyards and turpentine factories.
i know this wasn't in chicago, but i think you could do something amazing based on the Triangle fire in 1911.

[epicproblems]

Seriously amazing, loved seeing the process in the video also. Well done.