George O Jackson De Llano

My background in Mexican culture has had a major influence on my photography. I was raised in Laredo on the Mexican border and grew up as a Catholic in a bicultural household. My maternal family is Mexican, and I have always spent a lot of time in Mexico, beginning with frequent trips at an early age. A gourmand, bird enthusiast, and amateur botanist, in the 1970s I travelled frequently to the jungles of southern Mexico in search of rare palms and cycads. There I came in close contact with indigenous communities, which ignited my interest in the people and their traditional customs and festivals. My major photographic work, The Essence of Mexico Project, was a decade-long project to document the seasonal religious festivals"”the syncretic rites and dances, costumes, masks, and ephemeral art"”of the indigenous people, many of whom are still practicing traditions and honoring gods that date back to the advent of agriculture. The Essence of Mexico photographs, which continue to be shown around the world, are now in the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas, Austin, which shares them with the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Latin American Art, of the San Antonio Museum of Art.

I live in Houston, Texas, city of...

I am self taught heavily influenced by King Ranch photographer, John L. Bintilff, who taught me that anything could be photographed and noted Belgian photographer, Jaques de Selliers de Moranville, who taught me to do a good job of it. I'm best known for my 11 year end of the millennium work in Mexico, that earned me major one-man exhibitions in some of the world/s major museums. Since then, I have been enchanted with formally portraying formal compositions of REFRACTED color and light that I perceive as visiting 20th century art spirits that taught me how to SEE, come to participate in my exploration of them in appreciation of my knowing they exist.

After the best portrait is selected from a series of 12, they are all lain on their sides and alternately flipped, thereby mirroring the imaginary spirits to express themselves in thaumaturgical splendor....

Given their uniqueness, I have convinced myself they herald a virtual new genre in the creation of abstract expression, since they all involve REFRACTION, a basically ignored phenomenon and there is nothing else like them that I can find.

Solo Exhibitions

2012

Colores de México, by the Mexican artist George O. Jackson. Maison du Folklore et des Traditions, Brussels, Belgium. Sept. 15–Dec. 2, 2012.

Tzompantli, Photographs by George O. Jackson de Llano. Cosas Gallery, Boerne, TX. Sept. 8–Nov. 4, 2012.

Calaveras Resplandecientes: George O. Jackson. Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM. Jan. 20–April 1, 2012.

2011

Couleurs rebelles du Mexique. Photographies de George O. Jackson. La Photogalerie de la Maison des Amériques Latines, Paris, France. Oct. 11, 2011–Jan. 19, 2012.

Mexican Cycles: Imágenes de George O. Jackson de Llano. Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City. Feb. 20–March 20, 2011.

A Celebration of Mexican Independence: George O. Jackson Photography Exhibit. Imagination Celebration, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, TX. Dec. 2–22, 2011.

2010

El arte de la fiesta. Ritos del Norte de México. Fotografías por George O. Jackson. Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares, Mexico, DF. Octubre 2010.

2008

El Cuerpo Adornado: Exploring the Aesthetic Spirit, Photographs by George O. Jackson, Jr. The San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX. March 15–May 25, 2008.

2007

Mexican Cycles: Festival Images by George...