ARTIST - R.R. JONES
R.R. JONES - ARTIST STATEMENT
"For me, reading of a face is a more primal skill than language—it is the first thing we learn. Long before we learn to speak we become sensitized to the inherent meaning in expressions. There is a trace of individuality that can be seen in a fraction of a second. My job, as a photographer, is to find the particular moment when something profound, deeply personal, and true, is revealed in a way that can be shared. The message is there—I just have to find it in order to pass it along. In that way I’m like the go-between in the world of spirits, a world of non-verbal communication. Messages are all around–some useful, some misleading—but the ones that serve as the basis for good photographs reveal themselves rarely. The people I photograph have deep spiritual beliefs that govern every aspect of their lives–their religion, their dance, their art and their theatre. I have been allowed access to private moments that would ordinarily be unseen and for that I am thankful.
As far as biographical information is concerned, I was born in Houston in 1949. My life has led me on the usual twisting roads and forked paths that characterize most people's lives. I have been living in Santa Cruz since 1986 where I make my living as a photographer."
Selected Collections
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San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
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Denver Art Museum
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Cantor Center of Visual Arts, Stanford University
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Special Collections, Stanford University Library
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Santa Barbara Museum of Art
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Special Collections, University of California, Santa Cruz