MOBY DICK 2020

Sergio Mario Illuminato made this piece, MOBY DICK, using rough materials and a labor-intensive process. The surface is built up with layers of impasto, creating a rugged, tactile quality. The dominant reds, yellows, and blues evoke earth, rust, and the sea, lending a sense of weathering and age. It’s hard to tell for sure, but the primary material looks like acrylic or oil paint, applied with brushes and perhaps other tools to create that horizontal striation. The application is thick, almost sculptural, and across the center there is a band of gravel or small rocks. The piece evokes themes of physical labor and the passage of time. The title, "MOBY DICK", suggests a narrative of struggle, obsession, and the relentless pursuit of a seemingly unattainable goal. The tactile nature of the materials invites us to consider the hands that shaped them, and the amount of work involved in bringing the artwork into being. Paying attention to the materials, the making, and its social context gives us a new awareness of this artwork, and challenges the traditional distinction between fine art and craft.