Counterintelligence101

Content, Images, Artwork & Film copyrighted c. 2004 by CounterIntelligence Productions LLC

AGENT CIVETTA

Francesco Civetta's work is a product of a long-time preoccupation with the impact of the cult of personality as is derived by the mindless, often erroneous promotion of media networks and the subsequent public perception. Notably shaped by his upbringing in the kinetic and synthetic environment of New York City, Civetta has taken cues from the urban pop artists such as Lichtenstein, Basquiate and Warhol. Intrigued by the power of the human face to betray the inner workings of the human psyche, he admired the artistic techniques of photographers such as Richard Avedon who coaxed the psychological frameworks of his subjects out through the lens and into the viewer's immediate environment by means of a compositional gaze or a simple arrangement of figures in space. Civetta's earliest work consisted of experimentation with acrylic paints on plexiglass surfaces. His depictions of the flattened, iconic visages of figures such as James Dean and Marilyn Monroe were forerunners to his newer work. In a providential, unplanned moment of carelessness in his studio, Civetta momentarily leaned a transparent plexiglass image against and abstract, experimental canvas in the corner of the room. When he stepped away from this chance arrangement, he was struck by the interaction of the forms of the abstract canvas and the boldness of the portraitist rendering which suddenly caused both planes to spring to life. It was in this moment that he was inspired to explore the process of layering in his work, positioning a recognizable, abstract framework behind a figural arrangement which brought a pop cultural thematic power to the combination of elements displayed. Following his initial foray into acrylic/ plexiglass overlays on canvas/ acrylic arrangements, Civetta's work began to develop in reference to an opposing thematic statement as to the nature of cultural forms. While the plexiglass creations seemed to promote and glorify public imagery and the iconic power of visual culture, another brand of work surfaced in Civetta's repertoire, in which he explored primitive elements of popular culture, seemingly warning against the harmful nature of media exploitation. This latter body of work is characterized by complex constructions in which engaging, primitivist patterns are used to frame satirical reflections of a culture overwrought by detrimental glorifications of material culture. While persisting in his desire to challenge and motivate cultural reflection in viewers, Civetta maintains that his work is meant to elicit joy rather than confusion or discomfort. By exploring the visual impact of the icon and examining systems of recognition in viewers, Civetta draws viewers into the creative process by forcing them to acknowledge their relationship to the narrative power of the iconic form.

AGENT MOON

The work of Benjamin Moon is markedly linked to his intellectual and spiritual exploration of cultural primitivism and its relationship to perceptions of space and the interaction of real and fictional planes of existence. Developing his draftmanship from an early age, Moon focused his earliest efforts on depictions of architectural arrangements. At the Newcombe School of Art at Tulane University, he focused principally on fine art and art history, yet sought a comprehensive knowledge of world cultures, a discipline in which he earned an academic minor. It was this fascination with foreign and primitive cultures that drew him into a greater field of exploration within his art. His hunger for a grasp of the human universe coupled with the colorful and artistically inspiring environment of New Orleans led him into an ongoing reflection on the nature of the perceived universe as aesthetic representation. He experimented with surrealist landscapes in which the presented picture space became a window into a sculpted dimensional environment, which expanded inward, beyond the planar reality of the viewer. Working towards dimming the line between subconscious vision and material reality, Moon attempted to invent and develop worlds forged from his own encounters with primitive cultures and their spiritual frameworks. Directly following this phase of his work, Moon began to extract the primitivist imagery he used within these surrealist landscapes, removing the totems and symbols, which characterized the arrangements.