24 Works on Paper Artists: F. Bradley Jessop

To give insight into the works included in the 24 Works on Paper exhibition, Ryan Pack has interviewed some of the participating artists about their work in the show. The exhibition continues through August 8 at IAO Gallery, 811 N Broadway in downtown OKC. It will then travel the state for a full year.

F. Bradley Jessop

If you could write an artist's statement for you piece, what would it be?
My work is an amalgam of personal observations and experiences, some real, some simulacrum, some that I believe that I am supposed to have but may be only false memories. They are combinations of symbols in a variety of media. This work, like the last three exhibited in 24 Works on Paper, is derived from a conversation with one of my students. Our discussions about aesthetics and artistic development as well as the nonsensical; the years I spent as an elementary school teacher are also reflected in the work. Ideas derived from reading are placed in the image as well. Throughout the work all of the symbols and ideas have possibilities for open ended interpretation by the viewer, but there are a few inside jokes only Kody and I would understand, as such the image is purposefully designed to have a variety of potential meanings, may you find yours.

Do you listen to anything while you create your work? What inspires you (Be it art, music, books, movies, etc..)?
I find philosophy a tremendous motivator, particularly the works by deconstructivists and the pragmatists, which may account for the use of mixed media and symbols. The artworks work like a personal reflection of experiences that have washed over me like waves on the beach. Reflecting on these experiences, helps to fix them and the visual record that is left by that process is one into which the viewer can inject their own experiences and create new narratives. In that respect the work becomes like a wave on the viewers beach.