Jonathan Blackwell     www.lineaist.net
graduated as one of Duke University's first Visual
Art majors in 2001, and has subsequently embarked on his own Space
Odyssey.  He gained experience in the theater at Duke and in New York
at Dance Theater Workshop.  His first play, Unrewind (2001) produced
under the tutelage of London playwright Samuel Adamson, features DJ
Porangui in an integrated performance.

That same year Blackwell produced twenty paintings in the studio of
Nancy Tuttle May while serving as her assistant.  His first solo
exhibition, Nudes and Abstracts (2001), introduced the abstract style
of Lineaism. His second, Portraits and Landscapes (2002) shortly
followed, both featuring encore DJ sets by Porangui.

After a life changing invitation to China, Blackwell was given the
opportunity to travel through Hong Kong to Southeast Asia, India, and
finally Europe, keeping a daily journal and capturing hundreds of
drawings in countless sketchbooks.

This Odyssey stimulated an interest in global politics, prompting an
abstract and written exhibition, Architexture >>> Communication Beyond
Structure (2003), not to mention a score of political fundraisers and
his second script.

This script became the screenplay for Louvst, [love . lust . lose .
lost], an exploration into emotional understanding of human
relationships.	Meanwhile Blackwell mounted Studiophile >> Structure
Unfolds (2004), a series of paintings on unfolded boxes, encouraging
us to think beyond the box, and, upon noticing the unnatural outline
of each, analyze the shape we're in.

Louvst (2005) compiles the work of over twenty musicians, ten actors,
and locations across the state of North Carolina.  With additional
funding for the film industry earmarked in the state's budget,
Blackwell aims to mount another film with the assistance of Timothy
Wingate and others in the Pah Theater collective.

In the meantime Jonathan Blackwell appears in live visual art
performance as Lineaist with the band Topography, sells fair trade and
organic blends for Counter Culture Coffee, and lives in Raleigh with
Talia Wight, featured musician in Louvst, as well as the model in his
paintings and a constant inspiration.
 
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