Please take a little time and review this article in the February issue of Symmetry Magazine. Thank you!

 

https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/fusing-fermilab-physics-with-art

 

Called a madman by some, an inveterate prankster by others and an enigma by those who have no pigeonhole for him, Jenkins is possibly one of the few, the proud, the terminally misunderstood. He is without a doubt a fabricator of hyper-anachronistic allegory. At times his devices roll, balance, ring, flash and calculate but for the most part they tempt the viewer to reconsider previous notions about art and art objects.

 

In his home studio/laboratory this quiet unassuming individual examines the complex issues of life, death, war, spirituality, language, and science. He is fond of producing objects with dangerous edges and associations in order to demonstrate the inherent unity of the seemingly disparate issues. His methodical examinations attempt to visually connect diverse images and philosophies into a coherent and unified plexus.

 

Traditional methods and craftsmanship underlie not only his fabrications but also his life. His knowledge of blacksmithing and of the important philosophical issues of the day has created an artist known among his closest friends as the ‘Blacksmith with the Gentle Hammer’. This biography carefully weaves the intricate pattern of this relatively unknown artist in 1954 to the ‘Rockstar of Art’ he was destined to become.

 

The strange synthesis of dark humor and delightful material relationships push the reader to find a new ground of sorts. As soon as one believes they have seen there all is to see Jenkins sneaks in one more “rabbitpunpunch” to knock you down the slippery slope. The richness of not only the visual material but of the copious notes of Jenkins’ œuvre has made the compilation of this biography a pleasure for the writer. The reader will also delight in the careful examination of this remarkable man.

 

From Jenkins’ early life outstanding in the fields of middle America to his stunning and thought provoking debut at MOMA, Levergneux weaves a complex and compelling narrative ‘cloth’ of this consummate bald-faced liar.

“Be Suspicious of Anything Unusual” is a riveting romp through the curious mind and life of an indirect descendant of the Greek god Hephaestos, the celestial blacksmith and artificer. Destined to become one of the more obscure, misunderstood, and neglected biographies of the “New Millenium”, “Mefiez-vous de tout ce qui sort de l’ordinaire” exposes, dissects, and illuminates an extraordinary figure of this ridiculous age.

                                                          Bye-Polar Ice

 

 

The Chinese character for man rests inactively on the floor. A 12’ long graphite fishing pole blank is attached to the inactive character and arcs gracefully under the weight of the magnet. This magnet is attached by a single thread to the end of the pole suspended just above the Tip of the Iceberg. As the ice melts the gilt(guilt) pins embedded in the ice; in a very singular fashion at first, wiggle free from the ice bond and then suddenly leap across the gap and are captured by the magnetic field. Not a great leap of faith by any stretch of the imagination.

 

The sculpture moves subtly as these interactions occur. As more and more of the ice melts the boundaries of Antarctica are left exposed. Over time the gilt(guilt) pins oxidize and the piece is “Laid to Rust”.

 

The sculpture is comprised of several distinct elements selected and combined to best illustrate a deeply embedded and connective narrative. The list of materials include…

 

• The Chinese character for Man fabricated from scrap 1” thick plasma cut high strength steel. The material was found in a local scrap yard.
• A steel shoemakers last. It is attached to the Chinese character and may be representative of our Carbon Footprint.
• A 12’ long graphite fishing pole blank. Fishing for an answer perhaps.
• 80# Test braided fishing line. This is not a test.
• Brass chain for adjusting the distance between the ice and the magnetic field.
• The inevitable chain of events.
• (1) fishing hook sans barb. It may suggest the misinformation we are easily hooked into.
• (1) Industrial strength rare earth magnet. How rare it is? I’ve never had one this powerful. It was a gift.
• Hundreds of common pins for stitching things up. The container describes the pins as gilt because of their color. I suggest they may be representative of a collective guilt.
• A pyramid of ice approximately 7” x 7” x 7” with the collective guilt pins captured inside.
• A brass cut-out of the geographic boundary of Antarctica.
• A 2”H x 16”W x 16”L clear Plexiglas box with 5 sides only to contain the water from the ice melt. It may be suggestive of the clear thinking that is required to see the problems clearly and be mindful of thinking outside of it.

 

 

 

 

 

© J. Jenkins 2018

 

One week after the performance of “Dark Matters” & “The Quartet for the End of Time” by Olivier Messiaen I’m very pleased and grateful for the opportunity to present the sculpture and to hear the music performed by Wendy Evans (violin), Larry Glazier (cello), Elizandro Garcia-Montoya (clarinet), Rick Ferguson (piano). It was and exceptional performance.

I’ve included a video link provided by the Fermilab for this performance. I thank Fermilab for making this video recording available.

Here’s the link: http://vms.fnal.gov/asset/detail?recid=1952734

I hope that you will enjoy it.

Mr. Py was not traveling in this dimension any longer, any shorter, or in any way imaginable to most of the inhabitants of this Earth. The “Skate” was traveling fractionally above the speed of light, an impossibility just seconds before.

Questioning the reliability of the digital display; Mr. Py tapped the screen absentmindedly as he was incapable of resisting this antiquated analog practice. All external indicators and internal sensors confirmed his impression of what was happening at this very moment. The knotted lump in the pit of his stomach confirmed his growing fear. The quantifiable external velocity was in fact in keeping with the experimental data collected on pulsed quarktide propulsion systems.

Nothing had prepared him for this experience. His early technical work with “striker- aerocraftidrones” had not prepared him. The twelve, “pure research” years studying Cherenkov Radiation had not. The ten grueling and exhausting years of study and experimentation at CERN on the first Heisenberg Compensator had in no way prepared him for this or had it? This may be the first effects of Imaginary Mode of Mobility Affected Disorder or ImMAD setting in. His first “rip” in the “4FooSkate”; although enlightening, was in fact a quiet uneventful carousel ride by comparison.

What troubled him the most was not the excruciating physical pain traveling at this speed albeit considerable, it was the unexpected exposure to the void. It was there, it could be seen! It was beyond all reason…a sound of string breaking reverberating with a cruel echo…

Traversing the space/time hologram at above light speeds was bound to punish the “ripper”. This punishment was minute when compared to his enormous sense of loss, disconnection, and dread of all things he had previously considered essential to his health and well being. It wasn’t surprising to Mr. Py that madness usually accompanied the “rips” as the early literature of “Skate” events would suggest. Driving a “Skate” even at reduced velocities produced violent reactions even in the most mentally capable “drivers”. Doubt, pain, exhaustion, drool…

His powers of observation had always been acute. He had refined them over his experimental life. Mr. Py had honed them to razor sharpness before this event horizon. What he was now experiencing was a sense of being captured in a thickening ooze impairing all of his mental faculties. The experience of a thickening mental ooze is consistent with the technical term, “veloci-rapture”. Blood pools in the brain for an instant at 147.000/Amk, producing the effect. After it clears one may actually believe the spectacle before them is not real. Mr. Py believed that. He believed he was a tunneling electron microscope. He believed he was a quantifiable success. He believed his life was ending or not ending. Mr. Py believed his internal digital display and systems monitor had one flashing yellow LED sensor. He ignored it as usual. The last synapse snapped I/O. He was in fact beyond all things human.

© J. Jenkins 2018

I would like to provide you with some insight into my work. I will first ask you to visualize a wooden box in the middle of my studio.

The wooden box has contained many things over the years including glass, bottles, steel, antique lantern slides, magnets, pins, maps, brass cut-outs, magnifying lenses, motors, ice, computer chips, microscopes, paper, bicycles, and a dictionary or two.

My imagination then suggested something to me. I was to suggest to you that the wooden box be stenciled with the word Soap.  This is no doubt based in my recollection of meditating as a young boy. I would find myself repeating the word Soap over and over again until it had lost all meaning. Soap was my Mantra.

Please invert the soapbox and place me on top of it. I stand surrounded by some of my recent works and perhaps there are some older ones as well. I don’t really control what shows up in the collection surrounding me, it’s your imagination at work. The fabrications all contain some parts formerly in the box but are not limited to having been inside the box. They are now outside of the box for your examination.

At this point I’m called upon to say something meaningful from the soapbox. Well here goes…

The fabrications are all well made. Traditional manufacturing methods are utilized to produce these works. These methods may be taken to an extreme to emphasize a very specific point of view. The fabrications may be unsettling as they appear to have little or no connection with what is familiar to you. They may move, record, balance, melt, distract and perhaps disorient.  All parts of the fabrications are intentionally selected.  Everything articulated to provide essentially an allegory. They are in fact hyper-anachronistic allegorical and metaphysical timepieces.

This may cause you to reflect as do some of the mirrors in my work, or it may not. You decide. There is no more time and space now for me on this page. The soapbox is removed. Your work is done for the moment, mine is not.

© J. Jenkins 2018