The original figures were sketched by artists and designers to communicate a kind of personality or charicature (in general). In Constantine's art the figures' personalities become inessential, even an obstacle, to be sufficiently mutated beyond recognition through a total concern for their formal properties. For example, in his piece Happy Happy Joy Joy (2009), he has perfectly centered a small red fragment of the figure's head. The rest of the composition falls mostly under this central point. A large swathe of negative space remains in the upper portion. Perhaps inspired by Mondrian, Constantine has balanced the colors harmoniously, and used the black lines to assert the relationship of all the parts. As opposed to Mondrian, the lines are more sinuous (also, a lesser-known fact of Mondrian's work is the the presence of palette knife strokes).
Cartoons and comic book figures traditionally utilized a limited color range due to the exigencies of early media (i.e. the comic book printing press used primary colors). Contemporary cartoons (such as Sponge Bob) have moved beyond this limitation, but nevertheless offer a color range far more limited than that typically available to a painter. Hence the color palette of Constantine's work has a somewhat small color range, although within the context of art history his art almost accidentally falls under the De Stijl approach, sans the aesthetic ideals.In his latest pieces, such as Big Sponge (2009), the transformation is total. The original figure (SpongeBob) has disappeared; the only aspects remaining are the color, line etc. I find them to be the most attractive of all his works. They give context for all the other pieces: the exhibition as a whole becomes the visible process of the artist's push towards abstraction.
- A.C. Frabetti
Jacob Constantine. 'This is Not a Test' at Semantics Gallery, 1107 Harrison Avenue, Cincinnati, OH. Through March 27.
In photos: Above, Happy Happy Joy Joy (2010). Oil on Panel, 32x40in. Below, Big Sponge (2010). Oil on Panel, 32x40in.
Visit Constantine's web site by clicking here.
