BLACK BLOOD JESUS

20" x 24" canvas Heavy wood frame, 1.5" thick 10 oz. canvas
The painting was completed in May 2006 in my Los Angeles studio in the unfathomable hills


Everything has its story. This work of art has a pretty good one. This canvas was never intended to be what it's turned out to be. It's almost as though it was left to its own devises, and evolve into what it has become. After over two years of on and off painting and drawing I have finally completed a painting which I think is one of my best in a long while.

I've entitled it, "BLACK BLOOD JESUS" because it's a word play on one aspect of the piece; That is the provocative nature of symbols and words used away from any context. Also, because that's what it looks like to me.

It's several small paintings within a painting. Little stories enclosed in their section of this labyrinth. Each one surrounds the central figure, an old rendition of Christ.

The central figure of Jesus is decoupage which has been painted and varnished many times. Jesus has a halo of red metallic gold, (difficult or impossible to see on a computer) with an outer halo of an intense blue hue. His right hand is that of a skeleton, representing Christ's power over life and death.

The way this painting came to be is this; Two or so years ago, I was experimenting with abstract designs. I took this large canvas and splashed paint on it for days. After each coat I removed most of the layer using a spray gun. I repeated this process until I had a very complex "abstract" mix of washes and melting paint effects. After this, I painted it with brushes, streaking it with a dry brush.

I found the result of these efforts so interesting that I could not bare the thought of doing more. I thought it was done. The many effects held up as an interesting abstract mix of colors and impasto which pleased me.

However, not long after placing it on a wall, my wife looked at it and said "What is this crap?"

I'm used to this kind of intellectual criticism so I didn't let it get me down. I hung it in my studio bathroom. She made me understand, this was not a painting, but only a decoration like a piece of furniture. No real thought went into the piece. That's not the kind of "ART" that I do.

There it hung for about a year, gathering dust. One day I needed to write a note, but had nothing to write with, so I wrote on the painting.

That rekindled my interest in the piece. After that I wrote all kinds of things on it. In the months to come I wrote everything from "clever quotes" to "drunken rambles". Then I started making drawings on it. Within 6-8 months it was covered with drawings. In fact, it was a "mess". Every square inch of the canvas was covered with drawings. Most of them are now covered with paint, but they are still there, underneath.

It was a morass of colors, impasto,notes and drawings. Then one day, on a whim, I applied the picture of Christ. Seemed to naturally belong there.

At this point the painting began to evolve into something much different and interesting. Much more interesting than the abstract painting which by now, was buried under the sketches and notations.

I began applying new paints, metallic pigments and iridescence ... Acrylics and gouache. I painted in and elaborated upon some of my drawings. Other little pictures materialized before my eyes upon the surface of the painting, guiding my brush to make them come alive. There is a bit of magic in this work. Two years after the initial experiment, it all came together for me.

On the chest of Jesus is written, "NEGRO BLOOD?" This is a reference to another painting called "BIRTH DAY" which I painted for a friend. He was so insulted by the painting that we have not been friends since. I sold the painting to someone else.

In that painting there was a reference to those words formed as a question, "Negro Blood?", so I've written that phrase on many works since. It seems symbolic for me. Symbolic of what? I think an example of how words alone, used out of context, and with no real intent, can cause dramatic effect. I find that fascinating.

Words alone can be provocative. Words like "Negro", "Blood", "Faggot", "Kill", and "Shit". Even pieces of words can sometimes excite the imagination. The painting contains these words, and pieces of words that seem to spell out hidden messages. These messages are buried in the painting. They draw in the eye and cause a disturbing interest. A provocation, you might say.

At least two of the images from this painting were interesting enough to become paintings on their own. I did paint them, and they were sold to collectors. One is "THE JENIUS" (or "THE GENIUS") and the other "MAY I HAVE SOME HEROIN PLEASE"

The hooded figure was taken from my painting called "THE MESSENGERS", also sold and re-sold many times as a limited Edition Print. "KILLROY" is an old WW2 Pre-Graffiti figure that I've included or hidden in many of my paintings.

The upper left corner shows the little depressed ZOLOFT "BLOB PEOPLE", used by the manufacturer of the drug to represent the drug on their packaging. Also from the "ZOLOFT NATION', (as I call it) are the little "BLUE BIRDS OF HAPPINESS" which you can theoretically aspire to when ingesting the product. These bluebirds are on the packaging and were in the TV commercials with the little BLOB People. One is saying "NO!", another provocative word. I'm "a little" obsessed with tis drug because I take it myself. They now tell me I could die from convulsions or go mad if I stop taking the shit all at once. Nice.

The demons which surround the Christ figure represent some of the temptations. (I was brought up in an Irish Catholic neighborhood in San Francisco. All my friends fathers were firemen called "Pat" or "Brian", and all the kids went to Catholic school. My best friend was a one eyed kid named "Brian O'Brian". He assured me I would be going straight to Hell.) The drunk as a frog, the snake as sex, the butterfly as fear. Also two characters for sloth and pride.

Below Christ are characters symbolic of hypocrisy, foolishness, isolation and gluttony. The fish above his head is the ancient symbol for Christianity, upgraded by me to "Charley the Tuna".

The Devil wants Heroin, but must ask politely. He's turned down by some little ugly runt with a face I'd like to punch. Meanwhile, the rig itself is wasted.

The genius stares blankly as he stands with one foot in reality, and the other in a bucket of shit. His hair's on fire and so is the airliner behind him which is about to crash. This is symbolic of the imperfections in our technologies. Have you noticed lately that nothing seems to work? Everything you buy that involves technology breaks prematurely, and there's no one with half a brain to help you fix these damn things? The genius lost his hand in a malfunctioning machine.

The devil in a different guise warns the child of his brief existence, while the greasy rat of time devours him, the kid worries uselessly about his future.

The devil, shown for the third time, takes a vacation in some tenements. Enjoying a smoke while he watches over us.

RS Connett ~ vmaximus ~ RSConnett.com