“In early memory, or a story I have told myself about myself, in the dark recesses of my education, across vast spans of time to the span across my child self, to the plastic molded desks of Rocket City Utopia’s experimental kindergarten learning pods, sat a young boy and girl across from me, drawing. The boy was sketching a devil in a violet-red, that hateful second red, the real red crayon broken, a central casting Satan. The girl was drawing a rainbow by picking up all her colors in a pan-flute configuration. Both of these drawings were coming into being in unison, and upside down, a few feet before me. Another child, the boy that sat beside me, the one who would turn himself purple for a quarter, had given up on his drawing which only had a few lines crudely copied from a soulless motivational poster on the wall. I asked him if I could finish it. He sad nothing, but did nothing when I took the drawing away. I picked up my colors and made a right-side-up fusion of the two images: a Devil, based on the other boy’s, but more monstrous with retraceable batwings and a pitchfork on fire, this Devil was created completely of rainbows, utilizing the method of the girl. I then carefully spelled out both their names: K-I-M-B-E-R-L-Y, and J-O-S-H-U-A. When it came time for each of us to stand up and present our drawings, I was the last one. Standing up at Mrs. Breedlove’s request, I presented the drawing to the class. Kimberly was so upset that she vomited on Joshua, who in turn vomited on both their drawings. Leaving my Rainbow Devil Drawing an orphan. A singular creation on to itself. All of my drawings are the bastard children of this Rainbow Devil…, My drawings are of monsters, creating monsters by monstrous means, from unexpected materials and methods. These drawings to invoke moments from my everyday life, my domestic activities, my romance with my wife, my memories of the long and recent past, frenetic musings, nightmares, wastelands, and everything else and the kitchen sink, oh, and nothing at all as well. Every drawing I have made since that first drawing, every fusion of what other’s bring forth, what chance offers up to me, is merged into a Thing That Never Was, that might have the same power as that first and greatest creation. A drawing that actually will have a powerful effect on YOU, and recreate that moment when I became fully aware of the raw power of art.” – Jason Robert Bell
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 06:43:10 +0000
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