The Art of Jonathan
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  • What is this art?
  • Piece description
The Art of Jonathan

Piece description

Merging 1 - 60”x42” pastel on paper, 2014
Love to the point of fusion. Merging is the action of melting a couple's personalities into one. As boundaries become porous, the sense of individuation fails and the person begins over identifying with the other. As a preface to codependency, merging is misidentified as deeper contact and love, when in fact it is often a lack of responsibility for the self and an escape into the other. Soon, an unhealthy sense of unity replaces the stronger bond between two empowered individuals. First piece in a series of 5. 


What's Left of Me - 60”x42” pastel on paper, 2014
Auctioned off at the Frost Museum, FIU Mammography Art Institute fund raiser. Proceeds went to funding breast cancer research and care in Miami for under-served women. Female figure sitting poised and distraught at the thought of losing her breasts. The piece captures the painful realization and sadness around the operation. However it also points to the wholeness of the self. While the figure will lose a physical part of her self, it doesn't detract from whom she fundamentally is as a person. The piece also serves as a critique to the undue importance young females attach towards breast augmentation surgery.


Collapse - 60”x45” charcoal on paper, 2013 - Winner Bombay Sapphire/SCOPE  Miami 2014
Eyes focused on the void, mind yearning to get back to it, head hung in sorrow as the water streams in rivulets down the solemn and resigned face; hopelessness has led to this point. Staring at the blade, dis-incarnation is but a slice away. Lips are motionless, there's nothing left to say. Only the frustration and anger at the unfairness remains. The water droplets seem suspended as the gravity of the moment freezes time. Careful rendering of the water effect and of the hair draws in the viewer. Towering, the figure is stoic and immobile under the shower head. There is a sense of placidity, hiding the painful undercurrents. The pose is that of resignation.


Unborn - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
Suspended in the void and staring back at the Source, the fully grown male figure is both a newborn and an aged man. Encompassing all cycles of incarnation, the figure exemplifies all the aspects of life. Dangling from his own umbilical cord, the profound wish to not exist is depicted in the ardent climb back towards to womb of manifestation. Deep schizoid wounding is not easily undone, and strained muscles and determined expression underscore the figure's explicit intent on leaving this world behind. Attention is given to rendering the face and it's blank expression. The muscle tone is defined, as the body strives to climb. The stark black background clearly brings the figure into focus, and as with other similarly contrasted pieces, gives an iconic appearance.


Masochism 2 - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
Chained, sprawled and supplicant, the figure is hopeless and praying for release. No limb is free as there are no outlets for his rage. Deep within his self made prison, he is unreachable. The figure is moist from sweat, all that anger cursing through the body and tensing the muscles. Body hair is matted down, the scalp is wet. The chains of wrought iron are heavy and inescapable. There is no key in sight. Only prayer and his longing to leave the darkness behind can save him. Attention is given to the texture of the chains and to the geometry of the body. Behind the figure, a surface of darkness extends backwards, symbolic of the darkness that is left behind when the soul progress in the healing process. In front, a lighter area, to which the figure is drawn in a posture of prayer.  


Kali – 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
“Useless, useless...” echoes around you, bouncing off the walls of your mind. Light, raspy, filled with wisdom but not without a tinge of sarcasm, Kali's fluttering chant reminds you of the impermanence of incarnation. Whatever you so cherish in this material world will dissolve, what power over others you think you may have will vanish, leaving you stripped of all beliefs and ready for death. Fearful, you may hold onto life but Kali separates your head from your body with the Sword of Eternity. Dancing and swirling in the depths of your Second Chakra, you can feel the heat coming off her body as she holds your head by your hair. In the last moments, you strive to stare across her sensual body, archetype of all illusions, to focus your dying gaze on Svadhisthana, painted in blood on her left palm. Kali's face is the exemplification of delusional madness, and on her full bosom rest the skulls of those trapped in Samsara. The male's head appears ghostly, and Kali's figure is strongly contrasted against an ink-black background to give her an iconic appearance. The pitch black likewise alludes to the velvet void of the non-manifest, birth place of physical reality and eternal womb to the endless process of expansion, stasis and contraction.  


Hanuman – 60”x40” pastel on paper, 2013
Triumphant, the Monkey God of the third Chakra Manipura announces his presence. Wreathed in the flames of anger, bursting forth with the certainty of knowing his place in the world, he is a reminder of your right to exist on this Earth plane. Fierce eyes, burning with the intent of manifestation, flash through the flames. Atop his head rests the golden crown of Hanuman, adorned with the symbol of Manipura. Strong colors and an effort to add contrast allows the figure to burst forward. Attention is given to the tongue and jaws. The overall ferociousness is exaggerated by the strong, warm colors of the gums and tongue, thrusting out of the surface. 


Ganesh – 60”x40” pastel on paper, 2013
“Where have you been?” says the mystic figure sitting cross legged on the floor of your root Chakra. For forty thousand years, Ganesh has been waiting for your return. Solid, grounded, timeless and firmly rooted into the Earth, the Indian God of the Mulhadra Chakra is impermeable to the storm of incarnation. Like a mountain battered by winds or an old river stone circumnavigated by karmic flow, he sits patiently. The stillness in the air reveals the muffled sound of his large flapping ears. His body is voluptuous and heavy, and his gaze pierces through your defenses, seeing you as you are, naked in the essence of Self. Attention is given to the heaviness of the body, the limbs are solid and full and the whole body sits firmly on the floor. On his forehead, the Mulhadra symbol is lightly dusted in white chalk. Traditional jewelry adorns the figure, though as with the other pieces in the Indian divinity series, a minimalist appearance is maintained. In no manner do the details crowd out the figure's iconic appearance. Simple jade or onyx rings squeeze the flesh instead of the typical overly ornate bracelets. The trunk comes into focus, beckoning the viewers attention, acting as a focal point and is raised in a symbolic gesture.  


Clarity – 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
Subject M. releases the associated negative belief system holding the wounding and pain in place, lets it dissolve and feels the clarity of the moment. Personality level understanding is achieved, spurred by awareness of the past life's pain which has been repeated in many incarnations. Ignited by knowledge, M. lets go of the karma in the moment and sees into a future without the habitual emotional pitfalls. Lips are ajar, expectant as a lover's at the anticipation of a kiss, the eyes are far reaching, projecting into the Divine. Attention is given to rendering the eyes and the lips in an effort to capture the viewer. The faces morphs and oozes out of the surface. Just as one longs for release and clarity, so the portrait comes out of the page, leaning into the viewer, outward and towards the infinite. The eyes and lips spill out, exacerbating the feeling of yearning.  


Past Life 1 - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
Lips pursed, gaze fixed on the distant horizon of the past, subject M. emotionally recollects the wounding from a past life. Seeds of sorrow, churned by the plow of Karma, sprout occurrences in her life that repeat themselves to the infinite. How do dismantle these events, how to heal and to let go of that original pain? Each hurdle sheds a faint memory of the wound yet the thread through time is elusive. The eyes are distant, the cheeks are taught with the negative association to and the inescapable judgment of the memory. 


Chelation - 60”x40” pastel on paper, 2013
Subject J. is an opioid addict. Wrestling with the perceived unfairness of life, he still yearns for healing but is often drawn back by circumstantial pitfalls. Vomiting out his rage and negative energy attachments in the process of chelation, the face is contorted in anger and rejection. Yet, the vomit is somehow beautiful, as all negative energy is distorted light. Attention is given to the eyes, focal point of the drawing, showing the strain and anger. The vomit is also depicted as bubbly and filled with light.


Reversed Mating - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
Auto-portrait of arachnophobic artist. Arachnophobia has been associated with fear of female oppression. Is consuming the phobia a path towards healing? Black widow females (fig.) eat their male counterparts after mating. The process is reversed here. There is a tinge of madness in the face. Attention is given to detailing the tongue. The black widow is perched on the tongue's surface, hooked into the flesh.  


Reversed Crucifixion - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
The Russian orthodox female figure is intent on exacting revenge, as the object of her desire is also the focal point of her hate. The male creates a closed energy loop in which the female is haplessly caught, satisfying her initial carnal cravings and then switching her delight into anger. Despair prevails in this cycle until the female frees herself from her self inflicted karma. The leathers straps are shiny and tough, sheet crumpled and the female's face is taught with anger.  


Subject T. - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
The impossible love, sought by both, consummated in one of the lover's world leads inexorably to death. He knows that he cannot survive in that reality and yet folly invites him. To be lost and floating aimlessly and comfortably in the void, shielded from facts and far from the surface of things, he can breath in the cold water, feel his longs darken and contract, feel the coldness swelling inside of his body, and forget. The mermaid gets her prize, for she would rather be bitter sweetly in love than alone. This mermaid has two fin/legs, allowing for intercourse.  


Hook - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2013
Such frailty in the delicate nature of incarnation. As if hanging by a thread, manifest life exists in a brief moment. At anytime as dictated by Divine precision, the link keeping us alive can be broken. Hooked into a physical form through the Soul Seat, our longing for this body and this karma has nonetheless brought us this far. Surprised by our choice, we may resist, but there is no stopping the process of hooking from one body to another. The face has a resigned, if not slightly appaled and surprised expression.  


Escape – 50”x30” charcoal and graphite on paper, 2010
Masturbation can be felt outside of the body, as a projection into a sphere of imagery. Pleasure is felt at the association with the imagery. Pulling oneself out of the physical body to experience union with immaterial beings results in a strained orgasm, awash with sadness and pain, the latter a thin veneer over a deeper wounding brimming with rage. The act is not that of pleasure seeking, but that of escape. The piece is cropped to give the appearance of intrusion. The viewer is peering in through a key hole, or through an ajar door, uninvited to this moment of painful rapture. The figure is barely sitting on the chair, and the fingers are contorted, indicative of a tense moment, not of release, but of sexual energy turned inward.  


Broken Heart - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2011
An ultimate sacrifice born out of desperation and attachment, the latter a patina thought beautiful layered onto a distorted aspect of love. The crescendo of pain and emotional masochism brings about the crucifixion of the female mate to satiate the lower self's negative fantasy. Scratching the itch of absolute negative pleasure, the scenario plays out the karma of past and present life actions. Longing for healing, a sacrifice is made yet you cannot extinguish a fire by throwing gasoline on it. In the end all is naught and the blood pouring from her wounds shapes a broken heart. Attention is given to the strong male figures, relentlessly raping and crucifying the female.  


St George and the Dragon - 60”x40” charcoal on paper, 2012
St George does not survive. Caught in a cave, his stead trampled, he faces naked and alone the omnipotence of fear. Meek and branding a religious effigy, he is no match for the Lower Self that dwells within and without. The escape route is blocked. Fighting an enemy perceived to be outside of you leads to no escape from torment. 


Never Enough – 50”x30” charcoal on paper, 2009
Lunar influence is inevitable, bearing down on the male with remorseless weight. Though the subject abhors the cycle, vainly shielding his eyes from the magnetic onslaught, transformation in the body has already taken hold. Out of control and yet savoring the negative pleasure, the werewolf consumes another victim. And the female, a chosen one, she too wants to be devoured. Just as it takes two to tango, a consuming male will always find his sacrificial mate.  


Executioner, Savior and Victim – 50”x30” charcoal on paper, 2007
Individuals will play any of these three roles in most interactions among themselves. Within, these roles are also played between various aspects of the psyche. We will often chose which role we will play, repeatedly. Here, illustration of a family dynamic, where both parents and the child have been attributed one of the roles. Like a fresco, the piece plays out the painful drama, with the appearance of a folk-art, simplistic illustration. The father is depicted as a ruthless tyrant, while the child is the reserved, cognitive yet questioning figure. The mother is the winged, protective angel, yet pathologically sacrificial in her deranged posture and in her willingness to burn with her child in her poisonous embrace. 


No – 50”x30” charcoal on paper, 2007
Upon the realization of one's own sabotage, shock sets in. Am I really responsible for all of the negatively perceived occurrences in my life? How can that be? How can I be choosing paths which lead me to pain, disarray and ultimately failure? Upon the question's utterance the answer is revealed. It is I, my Lower Self, to whom I feel inexorably chained, that allows un-longed for decisions. Locked in seemingly eternal embrace, I feel chained to our common doom. Nonetheless, the key to my fate is in my own hands.


No Trust - 60"x42" pastel on paper, 2014
Subject L.'s deep mistrust in universal order makes her prone to shooting first, asking questions later. In this dog bite dog scenario there is no room for altruism. Foes are everywhere. Animal motives peer through the dust, clamoring for meat as the main subject devours a bloodied carcass symbolic of the descent into the primal self. 
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