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Jonathan Morgan is a craftsman/visual artist born in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Throughout his childhood he was drawn to the subcultures of Punk, Heavy Metal and Alternative music. The awe inspiring virtuosity that he witnessed in Metal musicians, along with a love for wood working, made lutherie (guitar making) a natural progression of his interests. While attending Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, he constructed a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts with concentrations in music, fine art, and anthropology to try to cover the key areas needed to better understand the practice of lutherie.
Fine Art would prove to be another calling for Jonathan. After Hofstra, he went on to attend the Chelsea College of Art & Design in London, UK, and earn his Master's degree in Fine Art. Through lutherie and a love for the traditional crafts he witnessed in his hometown, he chose to focus his research on the benefits gained from recapturing and revaluing craft and skill in modern society. While in London, Jonathan began to explore this area of research in both his writing and artwork.
Currently, he is living and working in Fort Lauderdale beginning an exciting professional career as both a craftsman/artist and researcher.
Artist's Statement:
My work concerns ideas connected with craft and skill and their value within society. I explore themes of monuments and artifacts made by or as the result of people. I find myself drawn to bones and skeletons in much of my work, referencing ideas of death in the context of corporeality and the impermanence of the human body as the final monument and or artifact of a person – a final relic. My ultimate goal and drive in making art is to create work that is easily accessible to the public without sacrificing any depth of content.
I draw upon a background in woodworking and lutherie as an underpinning to my work. The scale of my work varies from instrumental to human sized objects. Materials I’m drawn to are the direct result of my making background and include hardwoods, metal, construction supplies and guitars. The heart of my work is in the craftsmanship and attention to detail underscoring the relationship in my work between craftsmanship and art.
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