- Norman Grindley
'Birth Dance' by Christopher Gonzalez is among the new works on display at the Faculty of Social Sciences at UWI's Mona campus.
Georgia Hemmings, Staff Reporter
RENOWNED sculptor Christopher Gonzalez loathes the "controversial artist" image which has dogged his professional life for years, and wants to dispel the widely-held notion that he is an artist of extremes.
"It is nothing but a myth, a myth that has gone on far too long," he told The Sunday Gleaner in a recent interview. "After all, what's a 'controversial artist'? Each artist has his/her own particular interpretation of a work."
Controversy has dogged Gonzalez on three commissioned pieces he has done over a 39-year career, which began following his graduation from the Jamaica School of Art in 1963.
The first - 'The Risen Christ' - was commissioned in 1968 by the Catholic Church for a representation of Jesus Christ after his Resurrection.
Gonzalez's depiction - a black man, shrouded in tight loin cloth with erect genitalia protruding - did not find favour with church officials and parishioners, and was outrightly rejected. The piece was then purchased by art patron/philantrophist A.D. Scott for his collection, and is now on permanent display at the Olympia Art Centre near Papine.
"The congregation was affronted because I'd dared to show the manhood of Christ," Gonzalez explained the rejection. "Surely the Risen Christ would have had his body outlined if wrapped in tight burial clothing? And he was a man, not neuter gender. At least that was my interpretation, but the members did not agree."
The second work - a Rastafarian representation of Jesus Christ - eventually found a home at the St. Jude's Anglican Church in Stony Hill, despite initial rejection.
Then in 1982, the Government of Jamaica, commissioned a monument as a tribute to the late reggae super-star, Robert (Bob) Marley, and Gonzalez was given the job. But the artist's impression of Marley was not well-received, and another, more realistic, sculpture was produced by Alvin Marriott and mounted outside the National Stadium.
Gonzalez's work remained at the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ), for years, until recently it was unveiled at the Island Village Shopping Centre in Ocho Rios, St. Ann.
"I am not a controversial artist," Gonzalez reiterated, "but I see myself as more than just a painter of pretty pictures, and an imitator of realistic things."
He describes his art as "symbolist" - work which captures the "inner spirit", work which is more in keeping with his visionary, spiritual side.
However, as he told The Sunday Gleaner, he does produce work according to specific instructions - a riposte to critics who claim that he works from his own interpretation.
"I might not always agree with clients' request, or I might suggest artistic modification for greater impact," he explained. "But I don't just work according to how I feel. I'll do what I'm requested."
Still, he does not undertake many of these commercial assignments, which tend to detract from the "inner spirit" he prefers to present.
His personal philosophy, expounded below, provides some insight into his beliefs and behaviour.
"My Catholic upbringing has made me a ritualistic and ceremonial person. I broke ties with the Catholic Church as a young adult, but have remained a very religious person, although not a church-going Christian. I began my spiritual search in the teachings of the Buddhists and the Rosicrucians... and my search has led me into many other areas including the African religions, the teachings of Native American people, as well as pre-Columbus civilisations. In religion, I have found much for the further development of my art and my own spiritual development. The circle is complete, and I am brought back to the basic philosophies and principles for living as taught in the Bible.
"I have been a devout lover of the poetry and prayers of the book of Psalms. I believe in the Kingdom of Heaven within, as taught by the great Messiah, Jesus Christ, and I believe that it is not presumptuous to see ourselves as the manifestations of God and, therefore, one with Him. This inner knowledge gives me a feeling of abundance in all my creative endeavours, whether in art or in the process of living and being."
This "inner spirit" was lauded by Professor Aggrey Brown recently as he spoke recently at the opening of an exhibition of new works by Gonzalez at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI).
"Gonzalez's work is that of a thinking artist," the UWI lecturer stated. "Works that are not just art for art's sake, but art that occurs within a particular context."
According to Professor Brown, Gonzalez, like most outstanding artists, uses his specific concerns and issues and make them universally understandable.
"The result is art which forces the viewer to think about what he or she is seeing," said Professor Brown.
He describes the exhibition, 'Spirit of Gonzalez', as "powerful and dynamic, noble, sensual, and awakening the ancestral spirit in us.... It is a continuously evolving spirit, one which is critical but non-judgmental."
His evocative image-making allowed him to produce an "interpretative" rendition of the Bob Marley statue, rather than a realistic image, Professor Brown stated.
In fact, as Gonzalez told The Sunday Gleaner, the Bob Marley monument attempted to depict what Marley stood for and aimed for."
"The symbolism of the tree trunk from which the figure emerges represents Marley's ascent from the ghetto into international acclaim with the music he created," the artist explained.
Gonzalez has always been an ardent fan of Marley, loving his music and its message and sharing some sentiments of the Rastafarian faith. So he felt honoured when he was selected to create a lasting tribute to the man and his music.
Today, he's glad that the Marley statue has finally found a home - "under the open, blue skies that Bob loved, and being viewed by persons who might have been touched by the spirit of reggae music."
The artist is also pleased and gratified that its message is finally being appreciated - a message of identity, spirituality, and of an ancestral spirit for all time and space. And he is not discounting the statue's tourism potential, an attraction for viewing by visitors considering its nearness to the Ocho Rios Pier where cruise ships dock regularly.
Gonzalez is anticipating and envisaging "good things" for the future as he continues to work from his studio in St. Ann. His exhibition at the UWI will run until the end of November, and soon he will be busy judging work for the National Biennial Exhibition organised by the National Gallery of Jamaica. He is the representative of the Jamaica Artists and Craftsmen Guild on the adjudication panel.
"I've come a long way with all that has happened in my life, and, while I'm hoping for happier times ahead, my experiences have all helped to advance my creative endeavours."
He has seen great interest and demand for his works in the United States and European markets, and will be positioning himself for these overseas interests.
