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ARTIST STATEMENT Jason's current works are a multi-media series under the general title POWER ANIMALS. This work engages species-queer, glamorous, paganistic animism. With it, he explores power structures, species and gender hybridity, witchcraft, military conflict, rock music, pre-history, and analog electronics. These works are not intended as statements about art, they are more like séances, particularly in the way they interact with audiences and collaborators (sometimes one in the same). Channeling mysterious yet identifiable energies in a given space or situation, taking anthropomorphism out of its comfy, harmless, cartoon status and connecting it to less safe, personalized mythical archetypes with Jungian undertones and erotic juxtapositions. They revealed themselves in dreams long ago, only recently incorporated into Jason's art works. Power Animals, and the codified information within them, are reflections of real forces and dynamics in the world, in constant evolution, but who and what they are can only be discovered with the help of others: participants, observers, passers-by, they all count. BIO Jason is a Brooklyn-based artist and musician. He comes from upstate New York where he made art, music, curated events, and built music recording studios. With the help of a few close collaborators, Jason led multi-media performance troupe Brown Cuts Neighbors (1989 – 2002,) which was based out of Schenectady NY’s local Public Access television station, and featuring countless members. Jason has exhibited videos internationally under his own name and as a member of groups, collectives, and under various aliases. He has an extensive history in community media and Public Access television as both a creator and teacher. As a musician, in addition to building an extensive ongoing discography, Jason continues to perform live music and has toured, recorded, or performed with a variety of acts including J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr), Suzanne Thorpe (Mercury Rev, Wounded Knees, thenumber46), His Name Is Alive, Devendra Banhart, Dan Deacon, Raphe Malik, The Bunnybrains, Lettuce Little, Denim and Diamonds, and many others. Jason recently went back to school and got his Master of Fine Arts degree at New York University, Steinhardt. |