Chicago, 1968 (from the series Cities of Fire), 2007, Mixed media on canvas, 10 x 8 inches


Cities of Fire is a series of seven paintings depicting major riots that occurred in the United States during the 1960s.  Typically brought on by racial tension, these events are pivotal moments in the country’s history when cities virtually became warzones. Fighting between lower class citizens, mainly the black community, and the police was out in the open for days and civilians died in almost every occurrence. In these paintings, Michael St. John uses high contrast images of the riots, fires, looting and vandalism and adds the psychedelic neon colors characteristic of the time.