"When you graduated from high school did you get a book by Dr. Seuss called, Oh the Places You Will Go? That has to stop. When I traveled after college I brought a journal and wrote and drew pictures in it every day. That journal said who I was. It was a reflection of my life."
Such are the sentiments of Jonathan Blackwell (T'01) who has returned to Duke to showcase an exhibition of his work, "Lineaism," in the Bryan Center. His art is a reflection of himself--every wall of the Brown gallery seems to harbor a different aspect of who he is or what he is trying to express.
In his display Blackwell has managed to present ordinary things to us in an entirely unordinary way. Included in the exhibit is a work he created for a class at Duke with renowned feminist artist Judy Chicago. He presents the viewer with classical art's depiction of the female nude, juxtaposing male and female reactions to the works. As he explains: "I have divided the images. The traditional male reaction is on the top in hot colors. Inevitably, it is enticing and compelling. In some of them I have the male viewer actually crawling into the painting. The female reaction is on the bottom in cooler colors." A comment on female objectification, Blackwell presents us with both sides of the story, and nothing is quite what it seems.
The walls of the gallery include portraits of trees and landscapes of nudes. There are self portraits and stunningly beautiful abstracts inspired by modern architecture. Of particular interest are a series of small, oddly shaped paintings pressed between panes of glass. Looking at the back of the glass shows us that these paintings are actually executed on flattened boxes. There is always a correlation between the painting and the box that it is painted on. A soy margarine box left over from Thanksgiving provides the canvas for a portrait of a Thanksgiving table. Packaging from a CD label-maker supplies the framework for a painting of a band.
Blackwell's art is not restricted solely to the gallery walls. He participates in a variety of performance art with the Durham Association of Downtown Arts (DADA). DADA is a group of Duke alumni that create and support art in the Durham community. Over the past two years, DADA has expanded to seven local venues, supporting both the visual and performing arts.
Blackwell's exhibit is an inspiration to Duke Students. It inspires us to tap our own possibilities. He encourages us to write in our own journals and to discover the places we will go in our own words. As he explains, "If you're really going to go with art, do it full throttle. Like life, art is an adventure. Do it to its fullest."
Jonathan Blackwell's show "Lineaism" will be in the Louise Jones Brown Gallery in the Bryan Center through March 11.
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