Five Down in Glory 1982

Editor: This is John Berkey's "Five Down in Glory" from 1982, an oil painting depicting fighter jets in what appears to be a dogfight. It's dynamic and unsettling, a swirl of motion and violence against a faded landscape. What strikes you when you look at this piece? Curator: The swirling chaos, certainly, but beyond that, I see a narrative steeped in the archetypes of conflict. Aircraft have, since their inception, served as powerful symbols of national strength, even virility. Berkey presents a kind of dance macabre here, doesn’t he? Editor: A dance of death, yes! There’s almost something romantic, in a terrible way, about how these planes are tumbling. What makes you say they’re archetypes? Curator: Because beyond their mechanical reality, they are stand-ins for larger narratives of power and destruction. The aggressive thrust of the planes, the contrails like violent brushstrokes, all evoke something primal. Do you see any historical precedence here? Editor: Now that you mention it, it reminds me of Romantic paintings, like Delacroix, using intense action and movement to evoke emotion. Only here, it's planes instead of horses. Is Berkey commenting on the spectacle of war, maybe? Curator: Perhaps he is asking us to consider the enduring appeal, and the tragic consequences, of such spectacles. Notice how the landscape is almost indifferent, faded beneath the drama above. Even "glory" comes at a devastating price. Editor: I see that now. I initially focused on the immediate action, but the background suggests a much longer view of conflict and its effect on the environment. Curator: And, the very phrase “Five Down in Glory”. Does this imply individual or collective memory and how it connects to the audience's knowledge? I keep circling back to an engagement of both the conscious and unconscious mind. Editor: That makes so much sense. Thanks, I'll definitely think about it differently now.