Jason Godeke

Associate Professor

Drawing & 2D Design

I create theatrical images, and I've generally worked with still-life as the context for my narratives. There's something appealing to me about the overt contrivance of a tableau, the fact that the artist not only renders the image, but also arranges and chooses the objects in the picture. I often draw or paint toys or figurines as actors, which/whom I arrange with oversized objects as props or architecture, and landscapes as backdrops. I’ve been influenced by the works of dead artists (Titian, Rembrandt, Breugel, Chardin, Balthus), as well as contemporary artists (Lucian Freud, Eric Fischl, Jenny Saville). I’m happy to be participating in the long tradition of drawing and painting. In a culture filled with mechanically produced and reproduced images, we all thirst for hand-made, physical, subjective pictures.