'Incubator:' A story picture of the 20th century

WALLACE — Many artists throughout history have created pieces with the intention of capturing the essence of humanity.

From the simple to the complex and the minimalist to the intricate, many works of art depict who we are as people in several ways from the creator’s perspective.

Local artist, Fulton Gadbois, has been working on his perspective for some time now in the form of a 10 foot by 6-foot drawing (and eventual painting) he calls “Incubator.”

The massive project, Gadbois explained, is “the story of what happened to people over a hundred year period.”

“Its a story that begins on horseback, and ends up on the moon,” he added.

Using two colliding galaxies as composition, “Incubator” begins on the far left of the piece in 1900 and evolves through time as you follow the natural swirl.

As the viewer follows along, one can track the development of humanity as each historical event flows into the next.

For example, the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria is shown just before the first galaxy swirls into the events of World War I.

Also, a giant mushroom cloud sits atop the second galaxy, symbolizing the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan and signaling the end of World War II.

A world war is shown at the center of the two separate galaxies with scenes from battles and an emphasis on what the main methods of warfare were at that time.

Gadbois placed the two world wars at the center of the galaxies to stress their importance on the people during the 20th century.

These two galaxies “collide” at the top of the piece to show what occurred as a result of the wars.

The artistic and cosmic-like historical roller coaster ends on the far right with a time capsule like design depicting the shared civilization of the later 20th century, the cost to the environment, and images of the planet with a light human footprint; all mixing with a parade of people approaching the 21st century.

The piece as a whole is still a work in process, but so far, it looks like it is coming along nicely.

The most recent work Gadbois has put into “Incubator” is a two-year redesign of the World War II galaxy.

Explaining that he did not draw the galaxies in chronological order (IE starting in 1900 and working out that way), he drew the World War II galaxy first many years ago — then moved onto other parts.

After working on the top part of the piece where historical events after World War I are shown (such as the Russian Revolution and the rise of the Soviet Union), he realized that what he had drawn previously “no longer fit.”

“My style had changed” he said, “the earlier drawing was just stuff tossed in there — scribbles and suggestions.”

The main difference between the first copy of the World War II galaxy (pictured) and the redesign is that the new one is much more structured and includes more references to specific battles.

Gadbois, born in Houston, Texas and a veteran of the U.S. Army, plans to unveil the newly redesigned portion at a Veterans Day reception on Nov. 11. in his gallery at 506 Bank St., Wallace.

From noon to 6 p.m., visitors can look at “Incubator” as a whole and see Gadbois’ other works, many of them available for purchase.

The gallery will also be offering a 10 percent discount for veterans.

Gadbois explained that his service in the military did play a role in his inspiration to create “Incubator,” but it is “only a part of my story. I’ve done a lot of things.”

He chose Veterans Day to unveil the redesign because, “it’s not only just finishing this World War II story, but because I’m a vet and vets are — (other than a) ‘thank you for your service’ response, nowadays pretty much ignored. This gives me opportunity to have some of my peers get together and recognize that we are a separate group.”