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The Coming of Locusts
The Coming of Locusts
The Coming of Locusts

The Coming of Locusts

Artist (American, born 1958)
Publisher (American, founded 1970)
Date1992
Mediumetching
DimensionsImage: 9 13/16 x 7 15/16 in. (24.9 x 20.2 cm)
Plate Mark: 9 13/16 x 7 15/16 in. (24.9 x 20.2 cm)
Support: 16 1/8 x 13 7/8 in. (41 x 35.2 cm)
Mat: 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
ClassificationsGraphic
Credit LineGift of Marjorie Devon, 2011
Object number2011.18.4
DescriptionLarge locust in center of composition. Smaller drawings of stick figures in movement, a church, a kite, a moving car, a wolf-like creature, a coffin, a cross on a hill, and other desert objects surround the grasshopper. Dark areas in the shapes of clouds and shadows are visible across the page.
Text Entries
A self-taught artist and tattoo artist, as well as a poet, author, and semi-professional boxer, Tony Fitzpatrick has created personal iconography and cast of characters that are an eclectic mix of stick figures, animals, and Catholic imagery. The Coming of Locusts is a biblical reference to a “plague,” caused by the swarming of the insects and destruction of crops. A grasshopper floats front and center surrounded by a scene in the background that includes a panicked stick figure running and another jumping into a body of water. A church rests on a hill beneath what appears to be lightning, and a radio tower sends transmissions through space. All of this is rendered with an intentional naivete that is reminiscent of cartoons and an outsider influence, such as drawings by children.
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