Check Out Jonah Jacobs’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonah Jacobs

Hi Jonah, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Life certainly takes some strange twists and turns. If you would have asked the eighteen-year-old me that later in my life I would be an artist just finishing his one-hundredth art show, I would most likely have wondered if whoever was telling me this was experiencing some kind of hallucinatory fever dream.

Two weeks after graduating High School, a graduation I spitefully did not attend, I was in basic training as a freshly minted Joe. I went through Airborne school, spent thirteen months in South Korea, and finished my military career as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne division.

After the military I graduated from Antioch college with a degree in philosophy. It just so happened that Antioch college is not too far from Wright Patterson Airforce base. Frequently, the same planes which just a few years earlier I used to jump out of, would fly overhead. It was a constant reminder of how enjoyable being in college was. Sure, writing a fifteen-page paper on the similarities and differences between Buddhism and existential philosophy can be a chore, but try jumping out of an airplane with one hundred plus pounds of equipment strapped to your body then spending three weeks out in the field fighting a mock battle, and you will quickly see which task is far easier.

After college I started working on a unit for people with severe mental health issues at a psychiatric hospital. It was a hospital, but since I worked on the unit that had to restrain people, it felt more like a prison. Many of the patients I am sure would concur with me on this.

It was around this time, now in my late twenties and early thirties that I began to write. At the time I wanted to be a writer, so ever day after work I would diligently tread up to my writing nook which was nestled in the corner of my bedroom, and I would laboriously eke out a paragraph or two every night. I was in love with words. The flow and cadence of words were like musical charms filling my ears. I felt as if there was a hidden magic to words and if you could only say the right words in the right way they would act as incantations that could open mystical doors to places that lay beyond our normal humdrum existence. You need more than good words though to write. You also need a good story. So, I would write these sentences that I loved but really did not go anywhere or fit with what I was trying to say. But when you are in love with something it is difficult to let it go even when it is not quite working out for you. I could not bring myself to delete these snippets from my mind, rendered real by language, so I began cutting and pasting them onto a page of miscellaneous ramblings which I would print out. After printing these pages out, I would transform them by distressing them with dyes, tea, iodine, salt, oil, and anything else I could find that acted as a stain. I began ripping these works up and pasting them back together to create strange collages. The freedom, the experimentation, the mess making, and using words in this strange and unique way to express myself, was a much-needed foil to the structured, slow, painstaking world of writing.

Twenty years later of constant experimentation and I have found my alchemy. I have perfected the craft of turning up-cycled materials into beautiful and intricate organic looking sculptures. Not bad for an ex-grunt.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
One of the biggest challenges for me has mostly been a logistics challenge. My sculptures have become quite large. Recently, I have completed an eight foot long, seven foot long, and a six-foot-long sculpture. Storage, transportation, money, time, and finding people to help me bread a seven-foot-long sculpture with oatmeal can be a real challenge. Anyone who has breaded chicken before knows how difficult it can be to get full, even coverage of breading — now imagine a seven-foot-long piece of chicken.

Working with up-cycled materials and materials which are largely organic have also been a challenge. As far as I know I am the only artist who consistently breads their work. Learning how to work with these materials has meant years of experimentation with many embarrassing failures along the way.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I consider myself to be a material alchemist who turns up-cycled materials into beautiful and intricate organic looking sculptures. I am known for my ability to turn trash into unique sculptural forms that are imbued with fascinating textures and resplendent colors.

I am most proud of just completing my one-hundredth show, giving a recent presentation/talk at MOCA L.A., the numerous awards my work has won, but mostly, I am proud of my unique approach to sculpture and all the decades of experimentation I have done that lead to many interesting discoveries.
What sets me apart from others is my use of material and that almost all my work is breaded with oatmeal and dyed with fabric dyes. My main material is cardboard and oatmeal, but I also use quinoa, couscous, plaster, sand, glitter, cat litter, glass powder, egg cartons, Polyfil from old pillows, cotton swabs, and countless other found and up-cycled materials.

Recently, I have also been exploring turning plastic containers and cardboard food boxes into sculptures.
Some of my techniques for creating sculpture are also unique. Over the years I have done experiments with using decay as a sculpting method and I often use fire to obtain organic shapes.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
The biggest most heartfelt advocate for my artwork has always been my mom. Losing her to pancreatic cancer last year was akin to losing a huge and irreplaceable part of myself. Her unflinching and unwavering support for my strange vision has always been a beacon that cuts through the fog of self-doubt. As an artist I deal with an endless stream of rejection so having some kind of steady support to keep you afloat during those rough moments is a must.

I have also met a lot of wonderful artists along the way of my art journey and many gallery owners who have worked so hard to promote my artwork and connect me with other like-minded people who share my values of creating artwork that speaks of environmental concerns.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jonahjacobsart.com
• Instagram: jonahjacobsart