Artist From Iconic Activist Family Finds Freedom In His Work

Jonathan Peter Jackson, Jr., 50, comes from what he calls a radical Black family. He knew nothing about them until he was 12; his mother told him. She withheld information about his background, fearing for his life, because Jackson’s late uncle was California prison activist George Jackson, author of “Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson.” His late father was George Jackson’s younger brother Jonathan Jackson, for whom the artist is named.

Jonathan Jackson, Jr.’s father was 17 on August 7, 1970 when shot and killed by police. Jackson, Sr. and three prisoners being tried in a Marin County, California courtroom, abducted the judge, three jurors, and a prosecutor.
Jonathan Jackson, Sr.’s intent was to exchange the hostages for George’s immediate release from prison, along with two other inmates, John Clutchette and Fleeta Drumgo. The three were known as the “Soledad Brothers,” named for the prison where they were incarcerated.
The men were accused of killing a prison guard, a capital offense in California. George’s supporters felt he was being framed because of his leftist writings, his skillful organizing and politicizing of inmates against the prison system. They believed that prison guards would kill George Jackson themselves.

Jonathan Peter Jackson, Jr. was born eight-and-a-half months after his father died. His mother is white. She met Jonathan’s father while working for one of George Jackson’s defense attorneys. “My mother was living in San Jose, California, which coincidentally was a place where a lot of Black Panther Party brothers would hang out, and where meetings were held around the Soledad Brothers’ case,” Jackson explained in a recent interview. His father would stop to visit his mother on his way to the Soledad Brothers’ court hearings.
When he was an infant, Jackson’s mother would take him to the courtroom where the Soledad Brothers’ pretrial hearings were convened. She would lift her son high above the crowds, so that George could see his nephew. They were not allowed to visit George in prison.
On August 21, 1971, George Jackson was gunned down in a San Quentin prison yard by a guard in the prison’s tower. Prison authorities claimed George had tried to escape. This was during the time of the FBI COINTELPRO or Counter-Intelligence Program, under which Black Panther Party members in many states were killed by police or FBI agents.

Jonathan Jackson, Jr., and his mother moved 50 times before he was 17. Despite moving from place to place, Jackson finished high school, and attended the University of California Berkeley, Cornell, and Columbia universities, studying art and writing. In the interview, Jackson said he’d been studying art since middle school.

Q: What inspired you to be an artist rather than a political activist?

JACKSON: For me it’s always about freedom. Corporal freedom, yes. And emotional, intellectual, and creative freedom. None of my work, especially this upcoming show entitled “Residue of a Vision” can happen without it. So, I will always work to exist in the space that offers the most freedom. I’ve always been an artist – prioritizing feeling and creating over other things.

Q: How do you describe your art?

JACKSON: I like the description of my work on JonathanPeterJackson.com, “avant-garde realism.” (In my paintings) I have the courage not to be clever and I work tirelessly to portray the human condition.

Q: Do you prefer using some materials in creating your work over others?

JACKSON: I’m primarily an oil painter. Oil paint is incredibly demanding and never stops challenging me on every level. Plus, the results are unparalleled. I paint on linen. Through many years of research and development with (a lab) in Portland, I developed my own completely singular technique to paint on linen with oil paint. I’m the only painter in the world right now who can do this. . .
(Jackson said he and his paint-maker experimented with sealing solutions that would protect linen from deteriorating because of the oil paints. “I emerged with a way to have as much or as little linen showing. . .,” he said.)

Q: Who are some of your artistic influences, and why?

JACKSON: Most of my influences are the fantastic scope of people I’ve had the fortune of spending time with, in my life. . . some of the pieces in “Residue of a Vision” are dialoguing with past artists. ‘Proxy Maman’ with Louise Bourgeois. ‘Saint Jerome in the Wilderness’ is a reimagining of the da Vinci masterpiece.

Q: How is your art affected, if it is, by politics, current events, and/or culture, Black culture, or pop culture?

JACKSON: Profoundly. All the works from this show are from specific historic moments.

Q: How did the pandemic affect your work?

JACKSON: I was working as a mechanic when the pandemic started, which was quite grueling, and so my output suffered during the early part of the pandemic. When I left the job, I had more time and energy, and emotionally I was much healthier because I wasn’t being exposed every day or struggling against management; and my output increased exponentially.

Jackson exhibits his art in virtual galleries. He is finalizing a 3D exhibition of all his work, which he’ll feature on his website. He said he still writes, calling it his first love. He wrote a new introduction to a recent edition of his uncle’s book, “Soledad Brother.”

JACKSON: A memoir is in order. I’ve lived quite a singular life so far. Unbelievable really, like both from the past and future. I also better get it down before I forget it all! I think next up may be an episodic show based on the Jackson family saga. We’ll see. Like everything else, it depends on timing and funding flows.