Modern Villains Addendum
Author’s Note
Modern Villains is a painting I completed in March 2024 during the failure of Trump’s indictments to gain traction as an outlet for political frustration. I have witnessed, and been impacted, by the advancement of right-wing politics, the symptoms of late-stage capitalism, the culture wars of fundamentalist religions, and the slow but steady rise of fascism around the globe. I know that I am not alone worrying about these developments, feeling powerless to act, and disappointed by my neighbors. “Know thy enemy” is my coping mechanism when I feel powerless, so I can be a bit of a research nerd. The result of my years of preferring nonfiction and frustration of current events is Modern Villains, 155 influential figures in the story of how we got to the world we live in today.
Firstly, I am not a historian and the figures who made it into the final painting are my subjective choices. Villain is a term used to be eye-catching and memorable, but is too opaque to truly describe these characters. There is no easy formula; I expect each individual viewer to have figures who they believe don’t belong as well as figures they believe are missing. I am only an individual and am impacted by my biases (secular, midwestern, female, gen z, progressive, post-graduate educated) so please keep that in mind. How do your own biases impact your reaction to the piece?
Yes, there are zero women in the painting; this was a conscious decision. How does that make you feel? I want people to note their reactions to seeing no women, it is a unique takeaway for each viewer. If you are curious to my own reasoning, it mostly had to do with the theme of Dante’s Inferno, the rings leading down to hell; as an artist I would choose a different analogy for villainous women such as Sisyphus or Tantalus; also I do want the viewer to think about what their absence means for them personally. Take with that what you will!
The Modern Villains Addendum dives into the figures featured in the painting, analyzing their biographies, industries, shared jobs, and connections to each other. The further you explore down the page, the more details you can find. You can use the Table of Contents to navigate. At the end of the Addendum you can see the full datasets used as well as filter and sort however you choose. Email me at annasibley1999@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions, and thank you for viewing my work
