Born: 1960

Education:
B.S. Webster University
B.F.A. Art Center College of Design 
 A.A.S. Southern Illionis University

Because we are saturated with life, because we are human, our greatest interest is with things human.
Figurative sculpture is my way of connecting with the world outside of myself. My desire is to make art that matters.
Art with integrity. Art that doesn't talk down to us or show us the negativity of the world. Art for me is finding a way to represent people as real people, honoring them as who they are.
Many of my sculptures deal with peoples' relationships. The relationship one lover has to the other is expressed in my works "Twist", "Thirst", and "Ledge". In "Twist", each person is completely wrapped up in the other. Though it may seem precarious, their feet are slightly larger to indicate that they are stable and grounded and not about to fall. Their relationship is on solid ground. In "Ledge", the woman is an entity completely unto herself, almost in a fetal position, though her hand is extended asking for help. We haven't yet determined whether the man will fail or succeed in saving her, though we do know that he is willing to give his all to help her. "Thirst" is about how we all need to be fed (inspiration) and many times the goodness one person receives is passed on through oneself to another. The relationship I have with my girl friends is expressed in "Three Women". The viewer can tell that these women really enjoy each others company and also enjoy sharing a good laugh with each other. There is great camaraderie between them. The connection we all have with each other is represented in "Circle". No one is touching anyone in any suggestive way, but rather they are making a connection from one person to the other and eventually that touch comes back to them.
With each of these works I have tried to pull the emotion of the moment forward so that we may feel (as viewers) that we are represented in the experience itself.
My father was a working man. He was a carpenter. Not a highly educated man, some people would refer to him as "salt of the earth". In my proposals for sculpting working men in various industries I would like to honor those people who made a quiet difference in the world. During the industrial revolution in Europe sculptors such as Daumier, Henri Bouchard, and Jules Dalou were making beautiful sculptures of the common working man. Around the time of the Depression, American Sculptors such as Mahonri Young also represented workers. These sculptors all represented the workers; hot and tired, but completely admirable in their moment. Before that time period much of Art was about idealism and after that period Art came to represent a more cynical point of view. For me, the challenge of trying to represent someone in their walk of life with skill and with sensitivity is enough to keep me searching as an artist.
I would like to be the sculptor that brings honor and dignity back to Art.

Email me at cjacksonsculpture@earthlink.net

See my work at: Artworks Gallery
Decker Studios
Whites Gallery