'I Want to Dream': Jonathan Rosen's poignant statements in Paris
![Small cutouts of emojis](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LEzsFKGe5bcf8hs3Nv3LHM-415-80.jpg)
Jonathan Rosen had conceived an I Want Peace canvas for his solo show at Colette before the Paris terrorists attacks on November 13. The acrylic sheet to support the toile had been fabricated with the requisite cutout block lettering. He intended to cover the surface with thousands of orange foam earplugs. It would be a vibrant, double entendre addition to a series that explores desires, aspirations and confessions through familiar mixed media.
With ten days separating such unconscionable circumstances and the opening of his 'I Want to Dream' exhibition, the New York-based artist was encouraged by Colette’s Sarah Andelman that the show should, indeed, go on. If the title aligned nicely with the start of the holiday season, it became even more profound. As the Yoko Ono quote at the heart of series notes, 'A dream you dream alone is only a dream, a dream you dream together is a reality.'
But even removed of all context, Rosen’s creative concept makes a forceful first impression. All identical in size (122 cm x 183 cm), the canvases doubly communicate through their wallpaper-effect motifs and sans serif typography as negative space. I Want to be Found consists of Where’s Wally? illustrations; white feathers blanket I Want to Fly; the collage of I Want to Escape comes from Rosen’s movie ticket stubs; I Want a Cookie in blue faux fur needs no further explanation. I Want to be Expressed is arguably the most zeitgeist-y of all: 13,000 emoji stickers.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Rosen had established a solid career in advertising before pivoting to visual arts roughly two years ago. Like a confluence of existential crisis and imaginative outburst, he realised how much he yearned to convey feelings – from insecurity to acceptance – that were likely shared by others. Where advertising acted like a 'quick hit' of creativity, he says this process has infused him with 'creative joy'.
'With art, it’s everlasting, especially if you put a piece of yourself into it,' he tells Wallpaper*. 'Even when it gets sold and you never see it, it’s still out there in the world; whereas commercial work has a shelf life. It’s rare that you have an opportunity to make a real difference in the world.'
Which brings us back to the I Want Peace piece. Rosen and Andelman came to the conclusion that he would realise the work on site – in Paris, in the store. He bid adieu to the earplug idea; in its place, 200 beautiful vintage postcards of the city that he sourced from local flea markets (he briefly considered plastic Eiffel Tower trinkets). He completed the canvas just hours before his flight back to New York.
Meanwhile, everyone was in agreement that the proceeds should be directed to a charity that would reach victims of the attacks. The Eagles of Death Metal, who were performing at the Bataclan where the gunmen killed 89 people, have singled out the Sweet Stuff Foundation as an organisation raising funds for direct donation (it was founded in 2013 to aide music professionals suffering from illness, and supported the band’s original bass guitarist, Brian O’Connor, who survived an unspecified cancer).
Rosen notes how the conversations he had during the making of the work live on in its result (an art expert from Monaco suggested he expose the reverse side of some postcards to underscore the exchange between people). 'This piece is not mine; it is all of ours,' he says, noting that wherever it ends up (it has yet to find a buyer), 'It will forever be in Paris.'
As for moving forward, Rosen says he has approximately 100 executions conceptualised, 50–100 materials set aside that require text, and 'orphan' texts that must be matched with media. Which is to say, he wants to make this a long-term project, now more than ever. 'In the past, I didn’t dream enough out loud,' he admits. 'And we can’t allow hate and terror to take away our dreams.'
Irony pervades the work: I Want to be Found (pictured left) comprises a collage of Where’s Wally? illustrations; I Want to be a Winner (right) is made from hundreds of unsuccessful scratch cards
Pictured left: I Want to be Bad. Right: I Want a Cookie
Rosen had conceived (and, indeed, started to create) his newest I Want Peace design (pictured) prior to the Paris attacks on 13 November
All proceeds from the I Want To Dream exhibition will go to the victims and families of those affected by the attacks
As Rosen explains, ’This piece is not mine; it is all of ours... it will forever be in Paris’
Here we see the poignant words I Want to Escape (pictured left) cut out from thousands of used ticket stubs, and I Want to Breathe shaped from an oppressive black background
Pictured left: I Want to be Expressed. Right: I Want to Fly, which is made from downy feathers, stuck firmly to the background
Rosen concludes, ’we can’t allow hate and terror to take away our dreams’
INFORMATION
I Want to Dream remains at Colette until 2 January 2016. For more information, visit Jonathan Rosen’s website, or the Collette website
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
Take off: Mathieu Lehanneur's Olympic Cauldron rises into the Parisian night sky
The Paris 2024 Olympics’ opening ceremony was closed with a soaring cauldron spectacle that will go down in history
By Hugo Macdonald Published
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
‘Who has not dreamed of seeing what the eye cannot grasp?’: Rencontres d’Arles comes to the south of France
Les Rencontres d’Arles 2024 presents over 40 exhibitions and nearly 200 artists, and includes the latest iteration of the BMW Art Makers programme
By Sophie Gladstone Published
-
Matthew Barney draws on a sporting horror history with video installation ‘Secondary’
Matthew Barney revisits a haunting memory of violence and spectacle in his first institutional show in Paris in over a decade
By Hili Perlson Published
-
Nicole Eisenman explores the dimensions of sculpture and painting at Hauser & Wirth Paris
Nicole Eisenman presents ‘with, and, of, on Sculpture’, her first retrospective at Hauser & Wirth Paris drawing inspiration from political challengers to ABBA
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Van Gogh Foundation celebrates ten years with a shape-shifting drone display and The Starry Night
The Van Gogh Foundation presents ‘Van Gogh and the Stars’, anchored by La Nuit Etoilée, which explores representations of the night sky, and the 19th-century fascination with the cosmos
By Amy Serafin Published
-
Marisa Merz’s unseen works at LaM, Lille, have a uniquely feminine spirit
Marisa Merz’s retrospective at LaM, Lille, is a rare showcase of her work, pursuing life’s most fragile, transient details
By Finn Blythe Published
-
Josèfa Ntjam reveals mythical sculptures for her LVMH Métiers d’Art artist residency
LVMH Métiers d’Art presents ‘Une cosmogonie d’océans’, celebrating Josèfa Ntjam’s artistic residence
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Damien Hirst takes over Château La Coste
Damien Hirst’s ‘The Light That Shines’ at Château La Coste includes new and existing work, and takes over the entire 500-acre estate in Provence
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Ludovic Nkoth’s vibrant paintings reflect on migration
Cameroon-born, New York-based Ludovic Nkoth uses acrylic paint to strike a balance between abstraction and figuration
By Ugonna-Ora Owoh Published