The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness

Mark Lombardi, a conceptual artist on the cusp of international success, had everything to live for. So why was the 48-year-old found dead, and his death ruled a suicide? Was it the ultimate conceptual art, an afterlife laugh at those who doubted his brilliance? He did, after all, carry business cards eerily portending "death defying acts of art and conspiracy." Or was he ultimately overwhelmed by the subject of his work: the financial networks connecting some of the most powerful and corrupt people on earth? His intricate drawings traced hot money, from Cold War funding to the heroin trade. But his most dogged scrutiny fell on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, a global money laundry bankrolling fraudsters, smugglers, and CIA operations abroad. Since his death, Lombardi's masterwork on the rogue bank has been held at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Could it be responsible for his demise? The answer can only be found within Lombardi himself.Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

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  • Episode 6: Death Defying Acts
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  • Episode 5: Black Bird
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  • Episode 4: The Mother of All Bank Scandals
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  • Episode 2: The Loss of Innocence
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  • Introducing The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness
    Oct 10, 2024 – 02:38
Recent Reviews
  • Spring7Boy
    The fawning made me flee
    Within the very first segments of the very first episode this artist was hailed by the breathless narrator as exceptionally brilliant, a genius, tanned and handsome… the stream of idolizing continued in parallel with slowly meted out information, and really unexciting audio clips of the artist talking about his work. Work by the way which was merely a vehicle for his geo-political-social views. Like many artists, he believed his societal opinions needed to be attended to, rather than just, you know, invent creative expressions that compel the viewer’s mind to make its own journey. Meanwhile the global conspiracy obsessions of the artist sounded to me like tedious soapboxing. Not necessarily untrue narratives, but not necessarily art. The moment I bailed was when the narrator made a classic art excuse about relatability — how the sophistication of the work was instrumental in the artist’s “downfall”. The world was simply not ready for such brilliance.
  • Watchathink
    Just brilliant
    I think this was an awesome podcast. Interesting topic and interviews. They did an excellent job. For those who think this is less than 5 stars, I question your intelligence.
  • Dr.D.S.MN
    Overdone
    Interesting story, but this podcast lost significant potential quality in two ways: 1) The sound choices across the episodes include these terrible high-pitched ringing sounds meant to convey suspense that actually do nothing except distract and annoy. Ugh. Makes it unenjoyable. And, 2) the narration adopts a similarly unnecessary conspiratorial tone to be dramatic. Totally unnecessary. Tell us a story, sure, but don’t overdo everything!
  • listeningok
    Huh?
    Listened to the first 2 episodes and I’m still trying to understand what exactly they’re talking about. I don’t even know what a conceptual artist is. And how do his pieces illustrate what’s going on in the world. I think this could be an interesting story if you had some background knowledge but I’m just confused.
  • Meh9873
    Boring story of a manchild
    Bloated story of a troubled man with privileged friends. Nothing here but droning narration, folks.
  • Niffler_UK
    Insight into a fascinating mind
    I had never heard of Mark Lombardi, but I was intrigued by the description of this podcast and love Brazen’s other podcasts. This is a really interesting story of a man with a tragic end who was both an artist and unofficial private investigator. The narration and sound design are excellent, and I felt totally absorbed by the story. Looking forward to listening to the whole series!
  • Hoshitoo
    Genius!
    Great way to follow an intricate story.
  • Bob LaFollette
    Might be good…
    Too many commercial breaks
  • ch5-ks
    For those with sensitive hearing...
    If you have or are around those with hearing aids, cochlear implants, neurodivergence and overall sensitive hearing: the first couple of episodes have high pitched ringing and sounds in them. I understand why they used it in the second episode, but I had to stop listening because it became too much. Other than that, the narrator is fantastic and the subject is interesting.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork on this page are property of the podcast owner, and not endorsed by UP.audio.