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Submitted: April 15, 2012
Image Size: 268 KB
Resolution: 1500×964

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Sic Semper Tyrannisby ~bergamind

Digital Art / Drawings & Paintings / Fantasy

Colonization and cultural contamination are two subjects (or maybe just one) that I always been interested in. Nothing good could result when a developed society invades (either in a friendly or unfriendly manner) a more primitive culture.

There is plenty of examples for this in our history but this image explores specifically the colonization of South America. It was commissioned by chilean band Huinca (term for the non-aborigine in Mapuche language) as cover art. The concept is a mix of a little bit of mythology with modern politics... it blends the ancient battle of the common man against an impossible adversary (like David and Goliath), which in this case is represented by a massive Lovecraftian creature; in its back, it carries what I call the "unholy trinity" of powers... war (missiles), religion (a cathedral) and economics (oil plants).

Our heroes, are representatives of the three main aboriginal cultures of the lower part of South America: Mapuche, Incas and Rapa-nui (although Rapa-Nui is in the middle of the pacific, it belongs to Chile).

All three against an all-powerful and evil adversary... will they succeed???

love 3 3

joy 3 3

wow 3 3

~~mad 0 0~~

~~sad 0 0~~

~~fear 0 0~~

~~neutral 0 0~~

~bigluv330 1 day ago

this piece is F#$%ING amazing the whole thing just blows my mind very moving regardless of the critics its awesome for real

~Engkong668 Apr 16, 2013

Nice work! Great perpectives and details.

~Sarsifus Apr 15, 2013 Hobbyist Digital Artist

I've never bought into the myth of the noble savage. The Rapa Nui completely deforested their islands building the Moi (wiping out more than a few species in the process), and from what I've read, were at times reduced to cannibalism to survive. The Incas were perhaps less bloodthirsty than the Aztecs, but that's only a comparative measure: they still weren't exactly the kind of folks you'd want to find living next door to you. A great argument of Desmond Morris' (from "The Naked Ape", I believe) is that there are no truly primitive cultures left on Earth, and none have existed for hundreds or thousands of years: there are only stultified or stagnant cultures; cultures that -- for one reason or another -- have failed to progress and innovate, and I have to say that I agree with him. It's mostly a lack of technological means that has kept most primitive cultures from doing truly lasting damage to their environment, not a surplus of restraint or superior virtues.

~bergamind Apr 16, 2013

Very good analysis, and I agree. Although the main concept is not about the natural virtues of savages, but about the abuse of an advanced civilization over a more primitive one. I am very aware that even between aboriginal civilizations there were racism and even slavery... but never to the level achieved by the spanish when they arrived to the Americas... they completely robbed and wiped out the Inca civilization (and almost all Mapuche tribes to the south). I included the Rapa Nui by request of the client because they are part of the chilean territoty, even though they were never part of the violent colonizations of the Americas. So this is more about the preservation local cultures against imperialism than the virtues of the "noble savage".

~Sarsifus Apr 16, 2013 Hobbyist Digital Artist

"So this is more about the preservation local cultures against imperialism than the virtues of the "noble savage"." -- I'm sorry, I guess I missed what you were trying to convey in your painting, then -- to me, at first glance, it seemed to be another romanticized tribute to the "noble savage" cliche. But rather than show these three primitive tribes facing off against a modern representation of war, religion, and economics, wouldn't it perhaps have been more appropriate to show them facing off against a contemporary representation of this trinity: the Conquistadors; the Catholic Church (having just barely concluded the horrors of the Inquisition in Europe, and who found a New World source of souls to save -- by the book if possible, and by the sword if necessary); and the slavers (including the other Indian tribes who profited from this trade) who enslaved thousands of the indigenous Indians to work the plantations the Spanish established in the New World? It certainly wasn't the modern equivalent of these three things represented in your artwork that decimated these peoples. I might have even included germ warfare, since the bacteria and viruses introduced by the Spanish killed far more Indians than were killed by violence, which had nothing to do with the Spanish's comparatively advanced technology; had nothing to do with the merits of one culture over the other; and had everything to do with the indigenous tribes geographical isolation and their inherent lack of resistance to these microorganisms. Still, on a technical level, it's a beautiful piece of work and I'm envious of the skill and talent you've exhibited by it. Have a good one...

~bergamind May 3, 2013

yeah... actually everything you mentioned can be found in the three powers represented by the creature. It all depends on certain point of view... it's a metaphor, therefore open to interpretations. You read it in a certain way... the next person might read it completely different.

~Lord-Mandible Mar 21, 2013 Hobbyist Digital Artist

"It's okay, guys. We got this. Imma hit 'im with my bola."

~Demialc-neeb-sah-em Apr 16, 2013

Who knows. It might work!

~Wixaleyin Feb 7, 2013

¡Mvna kvmey! Petu mogeleyiñ pu Mapunce.
(¡Muy bueno! Aun estamos vivos los mapuche)

~bergamind Apr 16, 2013

wow... la lucha sigue!

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