"George et Jon" is a collaboration between physicians and photographers George Jerkovich and Jon O'Neal. For source imagery, the two artists have used selfies gleaned from various social media networks on the internet. They then enlarged the found images using an interpolation algorithm in Adobe Photoshop. The finished portraits reflect the artists' aesthetic choices as expressed through manipulation of resolution and scale.
The appropriation of existing objects or images for use in creating new art is a longstanding practice. The best-known examples of this art-historically significant technique are Marcel Duchamp's (1887-1968) ready mades.
George et Jon's deconstructed and decontextualized images prompt many questions. When viewed from a short distance, the images reveal themselves as constructed of a grid of solidly-colored squares. The images resolve only when sufficient distance is extended between the viewer and image. Thus, on a formal level, they blur our notions of seeing and understanding. The decision to expose the images' pixelated nature was an esthetic choice. The artists could have easily enlarged them in a manner that suppressed the evidence of pixelation.
In their original state, these self-portraits were intended as informal representations to be casually consumed in the virtual realm. Anonymous and stripped of their original context, George et Jon's images raise issues related to our notions of self and the nature of public and private spheres, communication, and art.
Salina Art Center Exhibition Essay
Individually, over 300 photos by George or Jon are included in museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (NYC), the Library of Congress (Washington, DC), the Princeton University Art Museum, the Spencer Museum of Art (Lawrence, Kansas), and the Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery (Lindsborg, Kansas).
The appropriation of existing objects or images for use in creating new art is a longstanding practice. The best-known examples of this art-historically significant technique are Marcel Duchamp's (1887-1968) ready mades.
George et Jon's deconstructed and decontextualized images prompt many questions. When viewed from a short distance, the images reveal themselves as constructed of a grid of solidly-colored squares. The images resolve only when sufficient distance is extended between the viewer and image. Thus, on a formal level, they blur our notions of seeing and understanding. The decision to expose the images' pixelated nature was an esthetic choice. The artists could have easily enlarged them in a manner that suppressed the evidence of pixelation.
In their original state, these self-portraits were intended as informal representations to be casually consumed in the virtual realm. Anonymous and stripped of their original context, George et Jon's images raise issues related to our notions of self and the nature of public and private spheres, communication, and art.
Salina Art Center Exhibition Essay
Individually, over 300 photos by George or Jon are included in museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (NYC), the Library of Congress (Washington, DC), the Princeton University Art Museum, the Spencer Museum of Art (Lawrence, Kansas), and the Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery (Lindsborg, Kansas).
