Liberty? (aka. Talk Is Cheap) Painting

TALK IS CHEAP, 2014 42.25” W x 60.5” H 107.315 cm x 153.035 cm (approx. 3.5 feet wide x 5 feet high) Acrylic on canvas . . . introducing Jay Worth Allen’s groundbreaking work: “Talk Is Cheap”.

 An admitted political junkie, as well as an avid reader, Jay Worth Allen’s inspiration for this work comes directly from the following admonition: “The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money” (Micah 3:11) — the artist explains: Therein lay the secret of failure to rule in each case; and consequently, the secret of the corruption of the people over whom they ruled. Talk is cheap! When we find distressed and suffering people, the cause is to be discovered, finally, in their rulers. Jay says that what he sees going on in the world today reminds him of what went on in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, except with bad music.

 The work speaks for itself: bold (to say the least), using deep green executed wet with clean whites, the artist applied thick, broad strokes to give the viewer a five foot head among white clouds on a purple-blue sky. One glance at this work, the recipient is faced with the fact that nothing can hide from her penetrating stare. That eye, that all-seeing eye follows the viewer from any angle, connecting to the very marrow of the soul. It is right that this eye is positioned on the head of the Statue of Liberty, the universal symbol to the entire world personifying liberty. In fact, her visage not only speaks to Liberty alone, but invokes the words: Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness — resounding words every American, along with peoples throughout the world cherish and have cherished for over 200 years. Yet, do we really know what these words mean? Where do they come from? From the pen of a man, who in 1776, while dwelling in the British Colony of Virginia, agonized over the need to see inherently free mankind be allowed to live free. The honesty in which these words were penned can only be seconded by the eloquence of which they fill the page — as only through honesty can eloquence of this magnitude be expressed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable rights: that among these [inherent and inalienable rights] are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed . . .

 Spurned on by this nation’s world-reaching events following the infamous “twin towers” debacle on September 11, 2001, in New York City, birthplace and home to many of the artist’s lifelong friends — Jay Worth Allen immediately became involved, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. From that point forward, his work shifted into a new era of the way he put paint to canvas, pastel and pencil to paper.

 By the end of 2003, he had completed several series which landed in the collections of many institutions and avid thinkers (collectors) across the globe. In fact, during the installation for one of his many one-man shows, several works were sold before they could be placed on the gallery walls. Apparently, a door leading into the gallery had inadvertently been left open long enough for a few curious collectors to make their way into the gallery where they found one of the owners immersed in the installation of a 24-piece works-on-paper series, among many already hung paintings with some still positioned awaiting their turn. The unconnected collectors (a couple visiting from Scotland, an avid collector who lived nearby, several owners of other galleries both local and from across the nation, etc.) one by one “simply just have to have [fill in the name of the work]!” Leaving the gallery no choice but to satisfy the passionate patrons, and make arrangements for their newly acquired works to be shipped at a later time — because, the well-advertised opening was to take place in less than 36 hours! Obviously, events such as this are not the first instance of their kind for master artists, including Jay Worth Allen; but in this particular case, the volume as well as magnitude of works sold before they had a chance to be shown, was a bit over the top — for everyone.

 His newest offering with Saatchi, “Talk Is Cheap,” has been in the private collection of the artist's wife, while over the years, many of the artist's friends and collectors have suggested it be offered publicly. However, the decision was made after a locally enforced national lock down, which came with a new designation for working artists as “non-essential.” The surreal events surrounding this latest global pandemic and the consequential dire governmental and individual reactions — especially those taken by a vast number of churches — hit home — literally. 

A few months before the world’s head turned on end, the artist’s adopted mom, Beverly, became in need of 24-hour medical care by a home staffed with medical personnel. While in his teenage years, Jay Worth Allen’s dad died unannounced and as a complete surprise to everyone — especially his young son, while that young son had just begun master/apprentice art studies far away from his home. Immediately following the death of Jay Worth Allen’s father, this amazing woman took him into her home and raised him as her own, fostering any and every artistic endeavor the young Jay Worth Allen’s brilliant mind could think up. Herself being born and raised in New York City among well-established world famous artists, poets, and musicians, Jay Worth Allen’s adopted mother understood artists and the environment in which they must have to thrive. So, when the entire world shut down because of a global pandemic, he and his adopted mother’s immensely intense close relationship was denigrated to tapping on an old screen-laden window from the outside of the facility where she now resides — waving to a patrician elderly woman forced to stay on the other side of that window, being held prisoner for absolutely no fault of her own, but “loves her son dearly,” as she tells the orderlies every day — with no date to look forward as to when those words can be personally delivered face-to-face by Beverly to her beloved son, Jay.

 Thus, this masterwork, aptly titled, “Talk Is Cheap”, was conceived on that infamous day in 2001, growing in the womb of the artist’s mind through the ongoing, ever-increasing effects of the aftermath, birthed into a nation, yea, an entire world, that has been building a prison in which its society was once only comfortable, but now demands. As with other works by Jay Worth Allen, the significance of this piece is profound. An exquisite technical accomplishment, in particular, this work exemplifies the artist's fons et origo which the he paints — refreshing, unabashed freedom, unencumbered by human conditioning — where, if one listens, the very breath of God can be heard. Works from his many series are in public and private collections throughout the U.S. and abroad, as well as in several gallery owner's private collections. Please visit Jay Worth Allen's profile for more information, and to view other works currently being offered through Saatchi Art. We appreciate and encourage any comments. Thank you. Regarding shipping: This work will be shipped in accordance with Saatchi Art's shipping guidelines (professionally handled: removed from its stretcher, rolled and shipped in a professional mailing tube). Otherwise, please contact the artist to discuss other shipping methods (which may possibly incur additional shipping costs).