Bless Monsanto

"A few months ago I was at a monastery with friends. We were all sitting around discussing life, and I brought up a project that I was working on. I was planning to do a series called "F*ck Monsanto"… basically calling out the huge Seed Magnate for oppressing the world with its monopolistic greed. 

I thought we were all on the same page about this subject- but my friend Calvin stopped me. "Dude" he said… "you are going about this the wrong way". With a gentleness that I myself could never muster he challenged me to re-think my statements and re-explore the topic. He encouraged me to think of Monsanto through a different lens (think: Wendell Barry, Ghandi, Joan Baez, and yes, even the Bible)

Truth be told I was taken aback. It was much easier for me to think of Monsanto as some looming evil, than as something complicated and human. Calvin said that the actual energy to transform something would take a positive statement like "Bless Monsanto". It struck me immediately. In part because it called out my own vulgarities, and in part because it was the hippiest thing I had ever heard.


This series was born out of that discussion. More a look into oppression and provision than an indictment of a corporation. I use the word "bless" because I too want to change the conversation… not just exposing corruption and evil in the world but exposing it in my own heart as well.
My artwork tends to explore questions of relationship rather than make specific statements. 
I am reflecting a world in which the oppressor and the opressee are obscured. A world where food is power and power controls food. I also wanted to play with themes of accountability- exploring who is watching and keeping record of wrongdoing.


Again, none of these are concrete ideas- merely an invitation to further discussion and exploration. This is not a struggle of good vs. evil- but a complicated arrangement of hunger and power."



Jonathan Randall Grant // Winter 2013 // South Bend, Indiana

Social Justice

This painting was recently accepted into the Annual Art and Social Justice Exhibition in South Bend. It will be my first juried show. I am pretty excited about that. "Il veulent du pain" means "they want bread". I wanted to create a work that commented on food- addressing who controls the availability of food- and who is in need. I also wanted to address The Church; specifically- considering access to the eucharist- and in essence to salvation. Two types of hunger- two types of justice. voila. I used a St. Sebastian figure as an archytype. he could represent the Church as the aggressor- or as the victim. He could represent the poverty afflicted or the controlling elite. I didn't paint this so much to make a statement about any one thing- but rather to explore ideas.

from the collection of Michael Kelly

Martyrs and Monsters

In the Autumn of 2010 I re-read the Epic of Gilgamesh. It struck me. Not only as a timeless story of love and friendship- but the imagery and texture of the tale struck me too. It is believed to be the oldest written human story, and yet, it is timeless. I could talk endlessly about the archetypes it established and the beauty of its message. But the point is that it captured my imagination.

At the same time, I was living in South Bend, and working at the University of Notre Dame. In-between lifeguarding shifts and teaching freshman how to drown... err... less, I would spend a few hours in the campus art museum. That museum has a fantastic collection- and I was enamored by their pre-columbian collection. I spent entire afternoons sketching pottery- intrigued by the simple, black lines and wide circular eyes. I devoured books on Picasso and Miro. Somewhere this all merged with my love of the forest and of the church... and voila! Martyrs and Monsters.

So what am I trying to say through my art? There is a deep, deep, spiritual world that we often ignore- but its not as dark as all that. I like to think of the natural world as intensely spiritual- connected with the past- and yet- full of joy and mirth. I don't think that even the darkest aspects of existence are really that scary. Perhaps that betrays my extreme optimism, but that is simply what I believe and it shows in my art. Life, Death, Adventure and Art are all the joyous expressions of creativity.

This series would not have been possible without the encouragement and critique of countless friends and family who sat with me on the floor of my apartment/studio/basement etc. listening to Cat Stevens for hours on end. Thank you. Thanks especially to Mike and Megan Gilger, Angela Lister, Caleb Stinson, Tim and Sherry Grant, Sue-Ann Round, Jack and Bobbi Graves, and everyone who has fed me, housed me, given me art supplies or bought my work in the past few years. I love you all.

I hope that you enjoy the paintings- I really enjoyed painting them- and I hope that you will purchase them so that I can go back to France. ;)

PAX,
Grant

Meditations On Gilgamesh...

Gilgamesh
2011 Suttons Bay
Acrylic and charcoal on reclaimed wood
11"x 11"


The Death of Enkidu
2011 Suttons Bay
Acrylic and charcoal
14"x 11"


Creature II
2011 Suttons Bay
Acrylic on Reclaimed Board
10"x 15"


The Discovery of Enkidu
2011 Suttons Bay
Acrylic on Reclaimed Canvas
20"x 25"
From The collection of Caleb Peter Stinson


Destructive Element
2011 Suttons Bay
Graphite and Acrylic on Reclaimed Board
24"x 10.5"


Creature I
2011 Suttons Bay
Graphite and Acrylic on Reclaimed Board
24"x 10.5"



Humbaba
2011 Suttons Bay
Acrylic on Canvas
23"x 71"


St. Sebastian In Gold
2011 Suttons Bay
Acrylic and Graphite on reclaimed wood
7"x 5.5"

A Few Monsters...

Frightened Lurker
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"

From the collection of Zach and Katie Emmons

Pre-Columbian Lapin
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"



J.H.C.
2012 Mishawaka
Graphite and Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"


Forest Face
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"


Pre-Columbian Bird
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"


From the collection of Rebekah Witzer

Some Kind Of Saint
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic and Marker on Board
12"x 12"


From the collection of Joel and Katie Steiner

Forest Lurkers...

Small Junglescape III
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"

From the collection of Janelle Pauls

Monster After Klimt
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"


Small Junglescape II
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"


From the collection of Jan and Dennis Deters

Forest Saint
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"

From the collection of Jude Keltner

Small Junglescape I
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"

From the collection of Analiese Riga and Ben Etherington

Martyrs and Monsters...

Contra Mundum
2011 Suttons Bay
Acrylic on Canvas
3'x3'


Challenge
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Canvas
3'x 2.5'


Great Concern
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic and Graphite on Board
12"x 12"


Agnus Dei
2011 Suttons Bay
Acrylic and Graphite on Salvaged Wood
3'x 3'

From the Collection of Timothy and Sherry Grant



Forest Lurker
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"

From the collection of Eric Shelton


Drat Bear
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic and Marker on Board
12"x 12"


Pink Martyr
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic and Marker on Board
12"x 12"



Idea
2012 Mishawaka
Acrylic and Marker on Board
12"x 12"

From the collection of Marie Breton

Dry Bones

Dry Bones I
2011 Suttons Bay
Graphite and Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"




Dry Bones II
2011 Suttons Bay
Graphite and Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"



Dry Bones III
2011 Suttons Bay
Graphite and Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"




Dry Bones IV
2011 Suttons Bay
Graphite and Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"




Dry Bones V
2011 Suttons Bay
Graphite and Acrylic on Board
12"x 12"