Always so busy

 If there’s one constant, it’s the feeling of busy-ness. Current project: unfinished.

For All Who Proclaim the Gospel and All Who Seek the Truth

 

For All Who Proclaim the Gospel and All Who Seek the Truth.   30x40 paint and ink on canvas T. Jutsum 2023

Artists’ statement:

This painting simultaneously sprang fully formed like Athena from the head of Zeus and yet also had to be, as Michelangelo put it, chipped out of the marble. 

This is a simple work; simple in form, but dense in meaning. The impetus of the work is to convey depth without utilizing complex perspective. I want the imagery to be instantly recognizable, but the symbolism to be thought provoking. I want this work to function as belonging to a space, but not of that space. I want this work to be refreshing when the viewer only has the time to walk past it casually, but also dense enough that one can sit with it and get lost in the detail of the brushwork. 

The title of this work is from the Prayers of the People, Form VI, BCP page 392. This is the default Form used in the Wednesday Eucharist service by my home Parrish of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, PA. I had been meditating on the themes and intentions of this project in the morning, taking a break to attend mass. During the service, the puzzle pieces of the work all came together and I was inspired by the Spirit that this was the title of the piece. 

The subject of the work is fourfold: 

1. The Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes in particular. Walking into the wilderness with Christ to find peace.

2. Christ as the Light of the World in a normal human body. The light that leads us by day and the fire that protects us by night.

3. Red sky: Red is a color held sacred by many cultures around the world, not least of which the indigenous peoples of the Eastern United States, where both I, and this painting reside. Christ also described red skies as having different meanings in different contexts. In a painted work, it is difficult to identify whether you are perceiving a sunrise or a sunset. That is in the perspective of the viewer, which leads to part four:

4. The unity of humanity as one family. The possibility that the rich variety of human skin tones does not at all function as a rainbow with distinct colors forming a complete whole, but rather as a continuum in which the subtle shades melt into each other.  A sunrise or a sunset. We are all God’s children. We cover the globe from below as the sky covers us from above. To try and single-out and define our differences is ridiculous and irrelevant; the very height of fallenness. To admit our unity is to state the obvious. Like the sky, we can be considered a single whole made up of individual molecules. It seems almost unnatural to think of the sky as the molecules. Rather, we naturally perceive it as a unity. May we also perceive our sisters and brothers in unity with ourselves. 

I spend a lot of time out doors, looking at the sky. There is a point everyday when observing the sky feels like seeing a painting composed in real time by God. I bring this sky as a humble offering.

Official domain

HTTPS://justsun.work

Https://jutsum.work

Both WORK. Ha.

South Main Street 2023

 

©2023 T. Jutsum

View of South Main Street, Montgomery, PA

 

©2023 T. Jutsum/V. Jutsum

A recent collaborative effort. I’m reasonably satisfied with it. 

New project

 

Primed my 1998 corolla for a sunset mural

AI Malaise

 I am so soooo sick of hearing about AI. I think AI is a bad thing, at best boring and lazy, at worst disastrous. In general, I think the 21st century is disappointing, but AI is repulsive. Somehow, I don’t think the AI revolution is going to mean more leisure time for me. 

Late summer 2023

 Finished August 2023 “Me and the Guys”

Midsummer 2023

 If you really want to know what’s going on in my life, check my Goodreads.

An unfinished life

 Lots of plates spinning, some finished, much unfinished. 

Food for thought

 I was aware of the crossbar theory. I mean, it seems practical and obvious that victims of crucifixion wouldn’t actually carry the whole cross and that the authorities wouldn’t dig up the post every time there was an execution when they could leave it in the ground as a constant reminder of the cost of transgression. I was unaware of the whole nailing laterally through the heel bit. Worth the read: Biblical archaeology review article on historical Roman crucifixion methods. Happy Lent.

Follow up question: Knowing that the crossbar was likely carried alone, does the imagery of Christ carrying the full cross continue to have merit outside of historicity, or should there be an emphasis on factual representations in the stations of the cross? My answer is to stick with the full cross. The personal meaning outweighs the necessity of accuracy. We are not changing minds here, people. The audience would be confused.

Out of many: One

 Fall of 2022, with the helped of my esteemed 8 year old companion, I created a piece in 10 parts as a meditation on being a member of a community. Sine Qua Non literally means Without which, not: a part required for completeness. In the community of equals which makes a family of adult children, the community is only complete when everyone is present, when every voice participates. This can seem to be a fleeting and evanescent moment, perhaps a wedding or a holiday, except that we are people of faith. One sister is always there, while she is simultaneously never present. There are many instances when perhaps it would be best if we actually concealed ourselves from each other; few truly authentic moments are shared between us, and yet we only form a unified whole when it is indeed all of us. Without one, the rest are incomplete. Out of many: one. Expect to hear more on this from me in the future. 

Pattern fun

Periodically, I will spend some time uploading snippets of my work as patterns on Vida. This service is not cost efficient to actually order from, but I love messing around with their product creator tool. Most fun user interface of all the print on demand sites. Also looks great in real life.

Continued portfolio updates

 Website continues on the road to revision. If there’s a particular painting you notice isn’t up, let me know. I can see at least a dozen in my house right now.HTTPS://Jutsumstudio.work/Justsun