Well of course peace signs aren't going to make the cut when it comes to the long history of blood and oil.  I can only hope Ted Musgrave's was a protest entry otherwise he surely does not understand the politics of the whole sad endeavor. Wind turbines, same, unh unh, can't do that, biting the hand that feeds the MCC would be utter hypocrisy. Turbines on oil tanks would be great if the vessels were empty and we had moved beyond petroleum (haha BP), but jeepers I truly believe the hopes of the fossil fuel industry is to "drill baby drill" for as long as they can.  By the way shame on all these "artists" for even entering the contest in the first place, and double shame on them for wanting to highlight their work post finalist selection. With staunch public outrage at near 100% at not only the quality of the works selected but at the concept of painting oil tanks during the age of peak oil and global warming you would think these folks would be happy that Jean Maginnis has no plans for increased transparency.  In fact you all ought to check the fine print you may be in breach of contract for posting your work beyond the secret lair of the MCC.  Cease and desist and go make some art that might change the world instead.  

Thanks for your excellent tutelage, Gorilla.

Here's the statement I'd sent with my submission shown above:

Rather than pretending they're not there at all, my proposal for the tank farm embraces its prominence in the distinctive visual and economical landscape of South Portland.  My design provides an onramp to assist passersby in appreciating the physical beauty & vitality of the tank farms themselves and an opportunity to look confidently to a time beyond our current dependences when the tanks are no longer filled with imported oil but still remain vital to the community.  In this visualization they instead contain a different, more brightly colored viscous liquid. The public, rendered in a simplified manner inspired by the works of Pieter Brueghel, is shown willing and able to rejoice & recreate in, and even export this other, apparently non-toxic substance intended to represent our collective economic strengths going forward.

Brian while your explanation of your entry is quite hopeful and earnest, it is naive and antithetical to the goals and interests of the true owners of the contest.  By proposing a work that does not support the fossil fuel industry your entry was automatically eliminated.  Jean Maginnis has attested to the need to ensure results that would not be critical of big oil and

Sprague Energy.  If this were a contest to highlight the goals of a world without oil the results would be much more intriguing.  Even if your entry were taken seriously and accepted by this group it could be said that it was nothing more than cynical "greenwashing" by an industry looking to improve its image.  This would mean taking advantage of your sincerity in order to make it look as though alternatives are what the fossil fuel industry wants and supports. In reality it is more drilling and the false promise of clean coal that drives them.  So where does that leave your entry?  Apparently in the dark and in the reject pile, not for its lack of quality and visual design, but for its true value as a political statement.  This contest was always a bad idea and your tale of rejection certainly adds to the many reasons it should not and does not have support.  Guerrilla art, subversive commentary, and speaking truth to power are the tools we should use to define these dreadful icons.  I can understand if you knowingly submitted a work that you knew would be rejected and had a plan to then take the work further in the aftermath of the predictable results in order to make a statement about the politics of oil, but from your comment it appears there may be a level of denial that is not in fitting with a design that is actually quite interesting and well done.  Perhaps there should have been a group of artists holding a shadow contest to create works that were free of the constraints the MCC and Sprague Energy. No doubt the results would have been much more thought provoking than what has been chose for us.  

You might make it a little easier to figure out how to send you images.

Ted Musgrave's text-oriented entries are straight out of, and just as chilling as, John Carpenter's "They Live", one of my fave rave B-movies of all time.

Sorry, Sharky - an excellent point. I've updated the post, but in case you're watching just the comments, please e-mail them to jinglis@thephoenix.com.