Eddy Palacios

Krstina Todosijevic
Feda Hadzimusic
Revelation by Jeff Jordan, 2007

Jordans Rebellation

Jeff Jordans art is a reflection of his influences, and the lifestyle he consciously
chooses for himself. His life seems to have a running theme through it, and its one that is
reflected in the lives of many other artists. He continually pursues that which is on the
edge, or maybe rebelling against the trends which he sees around him. He grew up with
abstract expressionists like Pollock exploding onto the scene, but despite this, he was
drawn to the representational art of Van Eyck and Norman Rockwell. The Beatles
exploded onto the scene, but he was more attracted to the rebellious Rolling Stones. He
graduated high school in 1966, but instead of being a hippie like everyone else around
him, he considered himself more of a beatnik. As he says himself he never quite fit
in, and enjoyed going against the crowd. These days he works as a painter, and
according to him, his works are meant to push the envelope of our conceptual perception
of the world.
Jordan works almost exclusively with surrealism. He wants to communicate
his ideas to the world, but found writing could never quite do it for him. While many
of his contemporaries are working in new-media and leaving traditional formats, he
continues to paint very surreal scenes from his mind. This stems from his fascination
with the ancient Greeks, and their fascination with surrealism. He sees their mythical
creatures as expressions of surrealism, and he wants to carry on in this tradition to push
the boundaries of human perception. Many of his paintings impose large objects or
animals in very normal scenes. Whether its a giant chicken standing in front of a farmer
or a wheelbarrow full of over sized strawberries being pushed through the desert, Jordan

is always looking for the edge. He himself acknowledges that his art isnt really meant
to answer any questions, but that the communication between artist and viewer also
lies in the questions that arise as a result of the painting. This is accomplished in his
work Revelation through the use of lizards, snakes, and nudes.
The psychology of Jeff Jordans Revelation is motivated from many
angles. For one, Jeff Jordans art is inspired by the questioning of his own imagination
and the artistic translation of the surreal, or his version of real anyway. Revelation
consists of three main organic forms. The three figures each take up an equal amount of
space in the painting, yet they each interact with each other in a way to deliver an insight
of Jordans own cognition. The painting expresses both the mental state and mood of the
artist. In specific, the painting reflects Jordans mental state and mood as deceptive,
ignorant seductive, greedy, and unjust. The cognition behind Jordans painting is fit
because 2007 was a year of George W. Bush presidency, recession, ongoing war in Iraq
and Afghanistan, and the year of the Virginia Tech Massacre. Corruption and greed is
communicated through the two lizard-like figures. While one holds all the money and
gun (power), the other covers his face and holds out helping hands at the same time. This
shows corruption within partnership. The female figure depicts the mood of ignorance
and purity through the covering of her face and the fact that she is nude. He uses
complementary colors for the lizards and contrasts their clothing against the black and
brown background, while the nude woman blends more into the mountain/desert
background, which emphasizes the message he wants to get across. According to him,
the lizard surrounded by the money is supposed to represent Dick Cheney, while
the dancing lizard represents George Bush taking instruction from the main lizard.

His message is beautifully calculated and intentional, yet also whimsical and
free flowing. He had two sets of arms which could work to represent the dancing snake,
but when he couldn't decide which to pick he simply decided to paint them both on.
This represents beautifully the duality of his works, but also the unconventional and
uncompromising way in which he chooses to see the world.

References:
Jordan, Jeff. April 2004. Tell Us About These Paintings. Retrieved February 6,
2012 from, http://www.jeffjordanart.com/bio.htm
http://evilmonito.com/2010/02/12/interview-jeff-jordan/