The Mingh Dynasty

I kept promising for many months, and news kept interfering. Now, at last, we can return to our series on the art of the Fran Clan with “The Mingh Dynasty” (crayon, 2002) by François. (Fun fact: the British pronounce it “din-asty.”)

This piece introduces the dinosaur motif, which can be found in at least one other Fran Clan work not yet displayed here. Potentially, the dinosaur may represent fellow Clan member Francisco’s childhood desire to become a paleontologist, a desire which was then shown the door in favor of a career as an astronaut. Relatively simple, “The Mingh Dynasty” is known to be one of the earlier works by the Fran Clan since the artists first drew on the complimentary pad of paper in the hotel room.

Connections to the title, as with most of François’s work, are difficult to discern. Speculation by art critics has centered on viewing the lumbering dinosaur as the antiquated Chinese dynasty, croaking out a final attempt at intimidation as Time invariably sweeps it away. Thus, the piece may be seen as a statement about the impermanence of worldly things, although this interpretation may be too literal.