Patricia Goldstone Libros

In the fateful month of March 2000, shortly after opening a hugely successful show in New York that unveiled the more nefarious financial connections of Presidential candidate George W. Bush, the hugely ambitious Conceptual artist Mark Lombardi was found hanged in his studio, an apparent suicide. With museums lining up to buy his work, and the fame he had sought relentlessly at last within his reach, speculation about whether his death was suicide or murder has titillated the art world ever since. Lombardi was an enigma who was at once a compulsive truth–teller and a cunning player of the art game, a political operative and a stubborn independent, a serious artist and a Merry Prankster, a metaphysicist if not a scientist. Lombardi's spidery, elusive diagrams describing the evolution of the shadow–banking industry from a decades–old alliances between intelligence agencies, banking, government and organized crime, may have made him unique in art history as the only artist whose primary subject, the CIA, has turned around and studied him and his art work. Exhaustively researched, this is the first comprehensive biography of this immensely contradictory and brilliantly original artist whose pervasive influence in not only the art world, but also in the world of computer science and cyber–security is only now coming to light.

Focusing on the life of Aaron Aaronsohn, the narrative highlights his pivotal role in the early efforts to establish a Jewish homeland. After moving to Palestine at a young age, he became an intrepid explorer, believing that water resources were key to the region's future. His groundbreaking work included creating the first detailed water maps and proposing a national border plan that advocated for cooperation between Arabs and Jews, potentially averting future conflicts.

The narrative revolves around the mysterious death of Mark Lombardi, a Conceptual artist whose work exposed the darker financial ties of political figures, including George W. Bush. Found hanged in his studio shortly after a successful New York show, his death sparked debate over whether it was a suicide or murder. Lombardi's complex persona as a truth-teller and a savvy player in the art world adds depth to the intrigue, highlighting his duality as both a serious artist and a playful provocateur.