Benjamin Jones As An Artist (Essay Sample)

BENJAMIN JONES AS AN ARTIST
Name
Institutional affiliation
Background and history
Benjamin Jones’ pieces of art have a special way of uniting any disconnected items, be they spiritually apart or politically different. A keen look at his work displays a connection in many aspects of life that always seem to be worlds apart. It is through art that one can tell what goes on in the mind of an artist and what entails their perception of the world(). Art is a means of communication that is used by most artists to communicate. Benjamin Jones’ art mainly revolves around the theme of spirituality. His excellent piece of work made him one of the most important artist of his generation.
Benjamin .F. Jones was born in the year 1941 in the state of New Jersey, United States of America. He acquired several degrees in his education that includes a master of fine arts degree from Pratt University in Brooklyn, New York, as well as a master of art degree from New York University. Benjamin also had an undergraduate degree, Bachelor of Fine Arts that he got from Paterson University located at Wayne, in New Jersey. The strong foundation in education, his resilience and hard work puts Benjamin Jones on the list of influential artists of his time (Brownlee & Cassel,2008, p. 213). His motivation and determination have kept him going for more than four decades.
The medium used in Jone’s pieces of art vary from time to time. Most of his artwork is mainly done using paint. It is his paintings that have made him worldly known. The paintings possess brilliant and rhythmic colors, not to mention art symbols that represent African culture of art (LeBlanc & baby, 2011, p. 124). Jones has also portrayed his art in sculptures as well. He has world recognition for being an installation artist and also a printmaker. His multimedia installations have led to his research and travel in, Europe, Africa, The Caribbean, the United States and South America as well.
The Black Arts Movement consisted of African American artists like Benjamin Jones’ around the late sixties and early seventies. The movement played a big role in the political struggles faced by black people all over the world. The artists used their skills in art to convey messages and unite the blacks with slogans such as "Black is Beautiful" during the struggle (Jegede, 2009, p. 111). Artists are dating back to 1930s also joined the struggle to strengthen the racial solidarity in the Black Arts movement (Dolina, 2012, p. 201). The success of artists like Sam Gilliam proved that black could also make it in life. The artists joined and used their diverse talents to come up with pieces of art that portrayed the blacks as a united race as they struggled for equal civil rights.
Jones has received many grants and awards for his exemplary work. An example is The Joan Mitchel foundation grant that he received in 2002. He has made more than 40 visits to Cuba to take part in cultural exchange functions where people know him as an influential African-American artists of his era (Lewis, 2003, p. 123). He has been a lecturer at institutions like Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts an...