In honor of the most obnoxious holiday ever created, I thought I would showcase an artist who’s work bends traditional gender roles. In the majority of art, no matter the medium, subjects are almost exclusively heteronormative. So when I see the work of an artist like Jonathan Solo my mind whirls. His goal is to make you uncomfortable, to make you think about his work, his subjects. Adding in his own experiences with death, addiction, and personal struggles, his works are unique to his feelings at specific points in time. About his work in his own words…
“Strict polar gender identifications have been used to control and confine us, even persecute us, for millennia. We are at last breaking out into a fuller appreciation of the breadth and power of the multi-dimensionality of the gender spectrum.
My work explores the vast space between those rigid gender identities, through fine graphite renderings that are then cut and reapplied to birth a new identity. I am moved by the remarkable brave individuals I encounter who are exploring uncharted territories. They risk so much by just expressing their true selves, breaking free from the highly constrained paradigm of male vs. female. Lately I am fascinated by the existence of Intersex people and their unique histories and trajectories.
I blend elements of images from hyper-real sources like pornography and fashion with those of everyday people, juxtaposing female and male aspects. I then lens these with subtle distortions to generate an underlying visual tension in the overall image. After intricately rendering them in graphite on paper, I then excise each key element and reassemble them into the final layered composition. My goal is to evoke both a resonance and confrontation with viewers of my work.”
