The Universe of Ben Jones reveals a lot about Jones, more than just an artist. He especially represents the best qualities of humanity, wanting a more connected world that is fueled by compassion and empathy. I recreated his 1960 Self-Portrait with a photo of myself in Italy, taken this past summer, and edited the image with a built-in filter to emulate Ben Jones' Impressionist art style. In a way, I relate to Jones' admiration for vast cultures and languages, as I occasionally travel to other countries; as I gain a better experience being physically present than solely through the internet.
Jones’ Self-Portrait is an oil-based painting that appears to have an impressionist art style. This painting is one of Jones’ earliest canvas portraits, having been made in 1960. Connected is a collage of nature and technology that represents the connection people have with each other and the world, regarding how it can improve. Jones’ is a compassionate individual, who like many, acknowledges everything going on in the world and how people need to be better. His love for diverse languages and cultures makes him more connected to the kind of world we live in. According to Mirzoeff, “The creation of the global city world has come at tremendous cost. Now we have to learn how to see the changing natural world (Chapter 6). Or more exactly, we have to become aware of how humans have turned the planet into one enormous human artifact, the largest work of art ever made or ever possible,” (Mirzoeff xii–xiii). He has the best intentions when tackling difficult subjects that are still prevalent in today’s world, addressing how we as a global community must improve ourselves for a better world for new generations to inhabit.
Self-Portrait conveys having to persevere in adversity and staying true to your ideals and goals. It also conveys that by educating ourselves on global matters involving other cultures, we can support each other and the world we live in. Connected also makes it clear that everyone in the world is connected through everything, and being separated by conflict. According to Sontag, “While a painting or a prose description can never be other than a narrowly selective interpretation, a photograph can be treated as a narrowly selective transparency. But despite the presumption of veracity that gives all photographs authority, interest, seductiveness, the work that photographers do is no generic exception to the usually shady commerce between art and truth. Even when photographers are most concerned with mirroring reality, they are still haunted by tacit imperatives of taste and conscience,” (Sontag). Many global crises like war, racial discrimination, political corruption, and among other things are what divide us. Jones’ ideals resonate with me and other like-minded individuals, who want to make the world a better place.
Both paintings address his deep connection with the world through his love of other languages and cultures, representing the best of humanity, as the rest of the world undergoes an ongoing struggle with social justice, racial discrimination, and many more. People like Ben Jones are vital in supporting the world and bettering the lives of many who suffer. Jones’ Self-Portrait is a self-portrait, revealing his vast knowledge and love of multiple languages and cultures, and his wanting to be a foreign language instructor and interpreter in the United Nations. Despite missing a deadline to enroll in Seton Hall’s Fall semester, he took other opportunities to support himself and grow as an artist. Connected shares his ideals for a more connected and compassionate world that supports one another, acknowledging the major flaws and negative qualities humanity must discard for the sake of today’s world and future generations.
These works are activists in addressing the world’s many problems, global and internal conflicts among leaders and their people, and then people fighting within their communities. Jones’ Self-Portrait expresses his deep connection to the world’s cultures, whereas his ideals are further emphasized through his other painting, Connected, as the world needs to work together, putting aside their biases for a better future. Connected, 2022, addresses that everything and everyone in the world is connected. This piece focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic when the world needed to work together to survive their shared crisis. According to Berger, “Single-handed he had to contest the norms of the art that had formed him. He had to see himself as a painter in a way that denied the seeing of a painter. This meant that he saw himself doing something that nobody else could foresee,” (Berger 110). People, animals, nature, and everything needs to work together to make the world a better place, with more people like Ben Jones to lead it. As for Self-Portrait, it tells of Jones’ personal story of being connected to the world through many languages and cultures. His wanting to work at the United Nations as an instructor and interpreter speaks about his strong sense of character.
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