LIGHTBOX FEATURE: HOUSTON ARTIST JONATHAN JACKSON
As a creative agency, we strongly believe in supporting up-and-coming talent in our local communities. We appreciate the passion that artists capture, share, and inspire through their work, for it is passion that is the true secret to success. Our company headquarters are located in Houston, Texas, and as one of the few cities left untouched by the economic recession, we have witnessed the art scene grow by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Attracting many aspiring artists and musicians who are unable to afford the cost of living in traditional “art cities” such as San Francisco, New York, or even Austin, the pool of creative talent is becoming richer by the day. Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with Houstonian Jonathan Jackson, a visual artist who we feel has an incredibly driven outlook on his career in the arts. Lucky enough to identify his passion early in life, he has built his life upon the theory that if you do what you love, you love what you do.
“I want my art to inspire people to be who they are and do what they want to do.”
Here is his story:
CRP: How did your passion for art begin and develop?
JJ: My first memory of creating art was when I was 11. I was obsessed with reading Spider-Man comic books. I began to re draw what I saw. My grandfather, whom I spent a large amount of time with, encouraged me by putting my drawings on the refrigerator and would buy me crayons and markers. When I became frustrated with my work, he would help me by drawing his version. This always gave me a better idea of what I was trying to do. He never said no to me. Every time I asked him to draw something, he would.
He was not an artist. He was an airplane mechanic in the U.S. Air Force for 35 years, and therefore understood the mechanics of drafting a drawing. The combination of him teaching me what he could and encouraging me to never stop, allowed me to open parts of my imagination that most people ignore.
I have never thought of Art as a career, I still don’t. Art is something that I have to do. I think of it before I go to sleep and right when I wake up. My obsession with art has allowed me to make it my career.
CRP: What do you hope to achieve as an artist?
JJ: Personally, I aim to stay consistent when producing my art and to be able to translate my imagination and ideas to people. It does not matter whether people like or hate it, as long as they feel something. I hope to inspire thought.
CRP: How you feel art plays a role in branding, design, and society as a whole?
JJ : Art is so powerful it causes often nonessential items to become desirable. I find beauty and a deep desire to understand that natural draw to the aesthetic, and the power it has over logic.
After four years of focusing on curating other artists’ work, Jonathan will have his first solo show at Little Pink Monster Gallery in Austin, Texas from September 14-October 20th. The show will consist of 30 drawings of objects accompanied by hip hop and soul lyrics as well as romantic one-liners. Jonathan describes the concept behind this exhibition as an attempt to expose the pieces as compared to the words that accompany each one, giving the audience an opportunity to explore their internal vulnerabilities.
Jonathan is also currently involved in the development of The Cargo Space, a mobile artist residency project created by artists Simon Grennan & Chrostopher Sperandio for Rice University in Houston.
