Gonzales poses next to one of his works.
Christopher Gonzales is an artist living and working in Runaway Bay, St. Ann. Here he discusses his work with Dr. Jonathan Greenland, executive director of the National Gallery of Jamaica.
Can you tell us about your work in the National Gallery, 'Man Arisen'?
I'm glad you picked this piece because for some reason people think I was influenced by the work 'Negro Aroused' by Edna Manley. The only thing that was close to Edna Manley was the wood. She gave me the wood. I even get some criticism saying that the man should be physically aroused, but the emphasis was not on sex. It was a man rising up in spirit, changing his whole manner, and not necessarily a black man or a white man. It is a totally different concept from Edna Manley's piece.
Was it based on personal experience?
Yes, as a young artist I was going through a lot of insecurity about my future and whether I would make it as an artist. This was around 1966-67. It was created out of a determination to succeed as an artist, to literally rise up in spirit.
You were one of the first crop of diploma graduates from the Art School, what were those days like?
They were very hard days. When I graduated the Ministry of Education was still questioning and deliberating over the diploma. And then it was a much smaller campus. The sculpture department was in Kingston Gardens and the paintings and graphics department was on North Street.
There were only four of us graduates I suppose I was one of the pioneering students. Two painters and two sculptors, two have since died. I think I am the only working artist left. They were very difficult times. I almost couldn't graduate because I couldn't afford the school fees. But my sculpture tutor managed to find a sponsor so that I could finish. It was a struggle financially. And at the same time you have people telling you, "You need a get a job, you are doing a rich man's hobby."
Even my own mother, God bless her soul. To stick it out was a triumph.
Do you have any advice for young Jamaican artists in the same situation?
Well, the situation has improved a great deal: the school is well established and there is more money to spend on art. I see some of these young artists selling for far more than what I was getting. The one thing I would advise them about is to be careful of commercialising their work. I have nothing against artists earning money but you can pursue the commercial side so much that you lose that quality of fine art.
It shouldn't be the goal?
Yes, it's part of it but it shouldn't be the ultimate goal of it. Artists need money, some people think that artists live on air, but we all have bills and expenses. The art supplies alone are very expensive. There is duty of something like 45 per cent on art supplies when it comes into this country!
I suppose your Bob Marley sculpture is your most famous work, because of the controversy surrounding it, but what is the work you feel closest to?
I feel I have accomplished quite a bit of what I set out to accomplish but there is one piece that stands out. It is in Atlanta. I actually started it here in Jamaica but moved it and completed it there. It is similar to Bob Marley in a sense. It is a wooden sculpture called 'The Sage'. It was a lovely slab of wood. I decide to make a sage, or a wise man, out of it.
I was first introduced to the concept behind 'The Sage' when I saw the photo on the cover of a book owned by my then wife who was studying anthropology. It was a photo of an elder of the Dogon people of Africa. It was a book of spontaneous conversations with him. The Dogon elder was blind and would sit down and talk about his people's cosmology the Dogon are a very mystical people and I felt some deep kinship with this man. For about ten years I was occupied with the concept of 'The Sage'. When I got this piece of wood I decided I wanted to pay tribute to this man. The image shows him with his hands over his head and he has three suns above his head.
Why are there three suns?
That refers to the triune division of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I was christened a Catholic but I have explored many religions. But with all my explorations I have returned to Christ as the Messianic spirit. This work is a cross between African spirituality and Christian spirituality. The number 3 is a key number in many systems and the triangle has often been the basis for great compositions, especially for religious works. 'The Sage' goes beyond any particular religion.
God never told us to belong to a particular religion. I have a reasoning and a fellowship with all religions, as long as the people embrace God.
What are your strongest artistic influences, and why?
Well, different things at different times. In the 1960s I was drawn to Scandinavian art there was a Norwegian sculptor named Gustav Vigeland who did tremendous works. I studied art history but he was never mentioned. His best works are in Oslo. As a young artist he went through tremendous struggle in Oslo, starving and finally he decided to move from Norway to Sweden.
He did very well in Sweden and suddenly the Norwegians wanted him back. The government gave him a studio, artisans and a park to design. And he did wonderful work. I visited the park and I began to feel very close to him. He even died when I was born in 1943! And the park he designed was fantastic. I would love to go back ... in the summertime this time: it was winter when I visited and most of the sculptures were covered in snow. He designed all the wrought iron gates and figures and an avenue of sculptural trees, a plaza with a huge fountain. And I said "How come this is the first time I am seeing this work?" But they kind of dismissed him by saying he was influenced by the French sculptor August Rodin. What really pulled me to his work is that he used the image of trees a lot. He didn't combine the form of trees with the form of humans - as I have done - but he created actual trees with humans intertwined (http://www.vigeland.museum.no/).
What artists are you looking at now?
In the 1970's and 80's I started looking at Pablo Picasso more seriously. I'm particularly interested in his simplified human figures. But overall I admire his colours and the unusual compositions he created. Most of all I like his early classical figures: they are bulky but simple and beautiful figure studies. I also like his erotic work.
You have always been a figurative artist?
Yes. In the art school my sculpture tutor Bill Broome was very much for abstract. He tried very hard to sway me from realistic work.
What do you think of the Jamaican art scene?
Much more can be done. Far more support could be given to the National Gallery so they could do more significant things. Also, all the hotels on the North Coast should be employing Jamaican artists. The only Jamaican works you see in some of these hotels are in the gift stores! It is hard to compete with these big print companies. I like some of the new Jamaican artists coming through but I think they are too strongly influenced by ideas from the outside, such as the installation style of art. I like the one Dawn Scott did at the National Gallery - I can see how that relates to Jamaica, but some of them are off-the-wall. It's only someone in those other countries who might appreciate it. I'm not stating we should not come up with new ways or styles of making art but we should not forget our own cultural elements - that's what gives us our individuality I think.
What is your favourite work of Jamaican art?
I love Osmond Watson, especially his paintings, but his reliefs are very fine too. I remember seeing him soon before he died and saying: 'When are going to do more sculptures!" I love Gene Pearson's work. I believe Alvin Marriott was one of the finest carvers this country has ever seen, although I don't think he has had the kind of recognition he deserves. A lot of people see him as more of a craftsman than an artist but he was a very skilled artist.
What are your favourite books?
The books I read on a regular, daily basis are mainly spiritual works. The Mustard Seed is a book I read every day. It is a book by a hindu writer who is commenting on the sayings of Jesus Christ. Each chapter is a like a discourse. It would be hard to find a Christina writer writing about, say, the Buddha in such depth. The second book is called Angel Wisdom - it is a book of different sayings for each day. It is very beautiful, wise writing. In the past I used to like reading erotic writing, especially Henry Miller. I learnt a lot from him. People often see sex as such a dirty thing but he saw strong parallels between the life of the flesh and the life of the spirit.
Miller explored himself intensely and that included exploring his sexuality and humour as much as his spirituality; is this important to you?
Yes. I think so. This was in the 1960's and I would read his books for days. It was a very intense experience. He also turned me onto a lot of other writers, people like the great Russian author Dostoyevsky - another writer of the human spirit - and D.H. Lawrence. The other books I used to read were about the lives of artists, especially books about the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh. I remember finding a book of the letters of Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo. A wonderful, moving book. I was in Norway at the time and a spirit led me to it. I passed this little door and went down these little steps into an amazing bookshop. The Spirit guided me straight to the book.
Where is your favourite place in Jamaica?
There is a particular place in Portland beside the Spanish River, a very beautiful place where a good friend of mine, an architect, built a bungalow. But I love any mountainous place. When I went to St Kitts I realised how mountainous it was. I was doing work down there for a park. Sometimes I would get up early in the morning and go up to the mountains to meditate. I love any place with pure natural beauty.
When I look at some of your works, especially the self-portraits, they remind me of Old Testament prophets. Have you struggled spiritually?
Yes, very much so. And at the same time, maybe as I get older, I don't have such battles within myself. In my younger times there could be battles between my sexual self and my spiritual self. And sometimes my sexual self would take over my spiritual side. But I think I am establishing a balance. My sexual side got me in such trouble, too much trouble!
Chris Gonzales's sculpture Man Arisen is on view at the National Gallery of Jamaica, his sculpture Bob Marley is on view at Island Village, Ocho Rios. Please call us for more details at 922 1561 or email us at natgalja@cwjamaica.com.
