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Jay Bolotin

The Jackleg Testament, part one: JACK & EVE


The Cincinnati based artist Jay Bolotin creates elaborate fantasies in a prolific body of work that includes painting, printmaking, sculpting, song-writing, and most recently filmmaking. The woodcut prints which fill the Private Dining Room in Proof were created by the artist to be digitally scanned and then animated in to a one-of-a-kind "wood cut motion picture" opera, The Jackleg Testament, which reinterprets the story of Adam and Eve as a dark provocative tale in which Eve is lured from the Garden of Eden by a Jack-in-the-Box. In the past, Bolotin has translated his narrative woodcut prints into concerts, stage productions, and mechanical operas. This project represents a desire to more directly translate the prints into a moving image. From the simpler, handmade quality of the woodcuts, Bolotin draws forth complex textures and layers to create striking images and a dense narrative. Bolotin also adds handwritten notations that reference the motion picture by identifying objects and quoting characters.

Exhibited Works

The Jackleg Testament, part one: JACK & EVE, 2004-2006.
Portfolio of 40 woodcut prints, Edition 1 of 35.

About The Jackleg Testament:

The Jackleg Testament is an animated woodcut opera that re-tells the creation stories of Western religion. In Bolotin's version of events, imagination commingles with literary and biblical references. The character of Jack, portrayed by the mannequin inside of a child's jack-in-the-box toy, lures Eve away from Adam and the Garden of Eden, and together they travel to Nobotown where the omnipotent figure of Nobodaddy reigns. Once in Nobotown, Nobodaddy arranges for Jack and Eve to participate in a stage production in The Theater of the Western Regions-a play within a play. In the chaotic aftermath of the play Jack and Eve are banished, Jack into the future and Eve to her original fate in Eden.




 
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The Jackleg Testament, part one:
JACK & EVE

exhibition details