Martyrs and Monsters
Jonathan Grant
In the Autumn of 2010 I re-read the Epic of Gilgamesh. It struck me. Not only as a timeless story of love and friendship- but the imagery and texture of the tale struck me too. It is believed to be the oldest written human story, and yet, it is timeless. I could talk endlessly about the archetypes it established and the beauty of its message. But the point is that it captured my imagination.
At the same time, I was living in South Bend, and working at the University of Notre Dame. In-between lifeguarding shifts and teaching freshman how to drown... err... less, I would spend a few hours in the campus art museum. That museum has a fantastic collection- and I was enamored by their pre-columbian collection. I spent entire afternoons sketching pottery- intrigued by the simple, black lines and wide circular eyes. I devoured books on Picasso and Miro. Somewhere this all merged with my love of the forest and of the church... and voila! Martyrs and Monsters.
So what am I trying to say through my art? There is a deep, deep, spiritual world that we often ignore- but its not as dark as all that. I like to think of the natural world as intensely spiritual- connected with the past- and yet- full of joy and mirth. I don't think that even the darkest aspects of existence are really that scary. Perhaps that betrays my extreme optimism, but that is simply what I believe and it shows in my art. Life, Death, Adventure and Art are all the joyous expressions of creativity.
PAX
Grant