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What are some recurring themes in Jonathon Rosen's art?

Artist Jonathon Rosen's work is heavily influenced by the intersection of human and machine, metaphysics, and the unconscious, often blurring the line between fine art, illustration, and multimedia. His distinctive style channels ancient motifs and carnivalesque themes to create pieces that explore the integration of technology and biology.

Recurring themes in Jonathon Rosen's art include:

The bio-mechanical: A central theme in Rosen's work is the ever-merging of humans and machines. This interest was sparked in the early 1980s after he saw a person on the street wired to a Walkman, leading to a "cascade of images" that became a primary focus of his work.

The unconscious and metaphysical: He uses multimedia and various technologies to visualize and explore abstract concepts like the subconscious, the spiritual, and the philosophical. This process is showcased in artist books such as The Birth of Machine Consciousness.

Ancient and obsolete technologies: Rosen draws inspiration from ancient and forgotten technologies as a way to engage with and inform modern artistic expressions. This includes the extensive use of analogue techniques like tracing paper layering and photocopier manipulation in his illustration process.

Gothic and carnivalesque imagery: His work is strongly influenced by Medieval art and the grotesque. This manifests in carnivalesque and surreal compositions that feature imagery from 19th-century circuses and magic posters.

Media migration: He intentionally creates a crossover between static and moving images. Illustrations become animations, and video sequences are reconfigured into collaged paintings, allowing for a constant evolution of his ideas across different mediums.

The bio-mechanical aesthetic

This constant back-and-forth between analog and digital techniques aligns with Rosen's central theme of the "ever-merging of humans and machines". By combining hand-drawn elements with obsolete and modern technology, he creates a unique aesthetic that is both futuristic and archaic, and mechanical and organic. The end result is an animation style that is distinctively textural, layered, and visceral, with the ghostly quality of his drawings and the tactile nature of his paintings clearly visible within the animated sequences.

Jonathon Rosen's animation style is a dynamic extension of his broader multimedia practice, characterized by a constant migration and repurposing of imagery across different media. His animations are deeply intertwined with his hand-drawn illustrations and paintings, reflecting his ongoing interest in the merger of humans and machines, archaic cultures, and obsolete technologies.

Elaborate on the specific imagery Rosen uses to depict machine consciousness

Jonathon Rosen uses specific imagery to explore machine consciousness by blending human biology with mechanical and technological components. His depictions often use these hybrid forms to prompt viewers to question the future of humanity in an age of augmented bodies and artificial intelligence.

Key imagery in Rosen's work includes:

The brain as a machine: In his 2019 "Art Is!" poster for the School of Visual Arts, Rosen depicts a human brain at the center of a composition that also features wires, circuitry, and gears. This image directly fuses the biological source of human consciousness with the mechanical elements of a machine.

Wires and circuitry as nervous systems: The brain in the "Art Is!" poster is surrounded by wires that act as a surrogate nervous system. This visual shorthand creates a powerful image of a consciousness that is part-biological and part-artificial.

Humanoid figures fused with mechanics: Across his work, Rosen has used hybrid figures that blend flesh and machine. This imagery often evokes a sense of the uncanny, blurring the line between human and android to explore the philosophical implications of creating sentient machines.

Visual cues for the unconscious: Rosen intentionally employs a technique he calls "analog Photoshop," where he cuts, traces, and reassembles paper parts to create his compositions. He believes this process allows the imagery to reveal itself, acting as a "self-discovery tool to unlock the subconscious". For example, the interactive mirror "I WANT" uses randomness and text pairings to mimic a technological glitch, which Rosen intentionally uses to suggest the hidden aspirations of the viewer.

Fascination and horror: In his book The Birth of Machine Consciousness, Rosen's imagery conveys a "simultaneous fascination and horror" of seeing technology evolve to be more like us. The linear format of the book is used to create a progression of juxtapositions, visually narrating the transition to machine consciousness.

Key aspects of his animation style include:

Bio-mechanical and carnivalesque aesthetic: His animations often feature bizarre, visceral imagery that blends the organic with the mechanical, informed by his fascination with the intersection of humans and machines. This can manifest in surreal, often grotesque, imagery that references carnival sideshows and grotesque art.

Integration with fine art: Rosen's animation is not separate from his work as a painter and illustrator. He frequently takes static images, drawings, and paintings and reconfigures, layers, and animates them. This creates a permeable boundary between his static and moving work, where illustrations can become animated and video frames can be pulled out as collaged stills.

Emphasis on chance and accident: A key element of his creative process is embracing chance operations and creative accidents. In his own words, he appreciates the "accidents and chance systems" that give his moving pictures a "pulse and a nervous system". This suggests a less polished, more improvisational approach to animation, which gives the final product a raw, organic feel.

Obsolescent technology: Rosen channels "obsolete technologies" in his work, using them to create a unique aesthetic. He started with computer animation and motion graphics in the 1990s and has used tools like After Effects and Final Cut Pro, sometimes layering them with more traditional, analog techniques.

Performance-based visuals: He is known for performing live video reprocessing of his animation work in collaboration with musicians. This suggests a responsive, improvised component to his style, where the visuals react to the music in a live setting.

Example works:

The Invisible Light: For composer T-Bone Burnett's double LP, Rosen created cover art and performed live video re-processing of his animations.
Dispossessed: He directed, animated, and edited a music video for the band Elysian Fields.
Sleep: A video made for a special issue of The New York Times Science section, with music by Tom Recchion.
Tales From the Crypt (CD-ROM): In the 1990s, he created an animation sequence called "Debauchery" for the game.

Elaborate on the techniques Jonathon Rosen uses to integrate his drawings and paintings into his animations:

Jonathon Rosen integrates his drawings and paintings into his animations by creating a continuous "migration" and "repurposing" of his imagery. Rather than treating his static and moving artworks as separate disciplines, he uses a multimedia workflow where they constantly inform and influence one another. The process of transferring and repurposing

Drawing as the foundation: Rosen emphasizes that "Drawing is number one" in his practice. He maintains sketchbooks and archives his loose sketches. He also uses tracing paper to build up complex, layered compositions. These raw, hand-drawn elements are a fundamental component of his animated work.

Layering and collage: He extensively uses a photocopier to collage and layer his drawings. This allows him to combine different elements from various sources before adding new layers of tracing paper. This technique carries over into his digital process, where he digitally layers, manipulates, and animates these collaged images.

Migration between media: Rosen's imagery moves fluidly between different mediums. An illustration might be reconfigured and animated for a video, while a single frame or a sequence from an animation can be pulled out and presented as a modified, collaged still. This allows his works to exist in multiple forms simultaneously, creating a permeable boundary between his static and moving art.

Digital manipulation: Once his hand-drawn and collaged elements are digitized, Rosen uses computer programs for coloring and further manipulation. He has been involved with computer animation and motion graphics since the 1990s and has used programs like After Effects and Final Cut Pro. These digital tools allow him to animate the complex, layered visuals he has already created by hand.

Involving chance operations: A crucial part of Rosen's process is embracing "chance operations" and "creative accidents". He is open to free association and creative mishaps, which gives his work a raw, organic, and unpredictable feel. This focus on process and discovery, rather than a perfectly planned final product, lends a "pulse and a nervous system" to his animations.

Examples of artist Jonathon Rosen's channeling of ancient cultures include:

Sleepy Hollow journal drawings

For the 1999 Tim Burton film Sleepy Hollow, Rosen was commissioned to create the drawings seen in Ichabod Crane's journal.
To inhabit the character of the 18th-century constable, Rosen deliberately channeled influences from a variety of historical periods.
His "method drawing" resulted in images that evoke Medieval art and the gothic grotesque, while incorporating elements of 19th-century magic posters and optical toys.

Asherah

In his painting Asherah | The Queen of Heaven on life support, Rosen depicts the ancient Canaanite mother goddess, whom biblical prophets frequently condemned.

The work is a mixed-media piece incorporating Egyptian and Canaanite symbolism into a contemporary bio-mechanical context.

The goddess is surrounded by Egyptian Ka spirits and "false" doors, which in Egyptian mythology represented the passage between the living and dead worlds.

Her lion, an attribute of Asherah's partner, has morphed into a circus lion tamer, demonstrating Rosen's integration of ancient motifs with carnivalesque imagery.

The painting also features the tree leaves of the Canaanite's sacred Asherah poles, a direct reference to their forbidden worship.

Tezcatlipoca, "Lord of the Smoking Mirror"

Completed in 2023, this painting reimagines Tezcatlipoca, an omnipotent Meso-American deity, for his book Gothic Aztecs.
The work channels the deity's role as a divine trickster and ultimate revealer of hidden sins, a being who perpetually mocks and metamorphosizes.
The "Smoking Mirror" itself symbolizes the all-knowing eye, nocturnal powers, and divine revelation, a powerful object of ritual and divination in Aztec culture.

Apries/Hophra Time Slip

This 2020 private commission references Ancient Egypt.
Its title features the names of two historical Egyptian pharaohs of the 26th Dynasty, Apries and his successor Amasis II, also known as Hophra.
The work is a black and white gesso, graphite, and matte medium painting on wood panel.

New Zodiac for Sentient Machines

Created in 2003, this piece demonstrates a synthesis of ancient concepts with futurism.
It reinterprets the zodiac, an astronomical concept dating back to the Babylonian period, for a modern, bio-mechanical world.
Rosen's approach replaces the traditional celestial creatures with "sentient machines," reflecting his signature themes of technology and the unconscious.

Elaborate on how Rosen integrates obsolete technologies into his artistic process

Artist Jonathon Rosen deliberately integrates obsolete technologies into his creative process as a means of subverting digital precision and fostering a more tactile, chance-based art form. By recycling images and working with analog tools, he creates a dynamic migration of imagery across different mediums, from static drawings to animation. His key methods for integrating obsolete technologies include:Layering with tracing paper, Rosen builds complex compositions using multiple layers of tracing paper, a process he calls "the drawing as an archaeological dig".

He develops intricate drawings using pen and ink.
He then adds additional ideas and details on top using new layers of tracing paper, creating a sense of history and depth within the final image.

Analog photocopier manipulation: Before transitioning a piece to a digital format, Rosen extensively uses an analog photocopier.

He collages separate drawings together using the machine.
The photocopier introduces a low-fidelity, "glitched" effect that stands in contrast to the clean lines of digital work.
He often re-introduces tracing paper layers on top of the photocopied elements to continue building the composition.

Printmaking and screenprintingWith a background as a fine-art editions printmaker, Rosen has a deep connection to the handmade quality of print processes.

He worked with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat on print editions and silkscreen paintings, demonstrating his expertise in analog printmaking.
The textures and methods of screenprinting, which involve transferring an image through a mesh screen, influence his work by emphasizing the physical process of image creation.

Media migration and recycling;
Rosen intentionally recycles and repurposes parts of his own work by migrating it across different mediums, both old and new.

An illustration might be scanned and incorporated into a digital painting, then later extracted and used in an animated video.
This constant flow between static and moving images and between analog and digital tools is a core part of his creative experimentation.

"Chance operations" and creative accidents. A strong advocate for embracing creative accidents and free association, Rosen often allows the unpredictable nature of analog equipment to guide his process. By using older technologies, he introduces an element of chance and imperfection that can lead to unexpected and compelling results that pure digital design would not produce.

What are some examples of Jonathon Rosen’s animation work?

Artist Jonathon Rosen's animation work often serves as a "visual music laboratory," where he experiments with loop-based, multimedia-heavy imagery to create a flowing, sensory experience. His animated projects intentionally utilize "accidents and chance systems" from analog and digital processes to give his moving pictures a visceral quality.

Examples of his animation work include: Gothic Aztecs (ongoing)

Description: An animation and live-action project originally commissioned by the French publishing collective Le Dernier Cri.
Plot: The narrative explores the aftermath of an Aztec takeover of Gothic Europe. It follows a young Aztec-European girl who rebels against her heritage to join a cult of the Devil.
Style: The film is a blend of live action and animation, with an early trailer showcased on his website.
Status: An ongoing project as of 2025.

Synthetic Apparatus (2018–present)

Description: A collaborative "visual music laboratory" with musician Van Hunt.
Style: It features an ongoing series of visual loops designed to be "a consensual hallucination" that is spread virally online.

Dispossessed music video (2019)

Description: Rosen directed and animated the official music video for the song "Dispossessed" by the art/rock band Elysian Fields.

Teaser for T Bone Burnett's The Invisible Light (2018)

Description: Rosen created teasers and live video reprocessing for the album and its accompanying performances.

Sleep (2007)

Description: A video made for a special online section of the New York Times Science Section.
Collaborators: The animation was set to music by composer Tom Recchion.

Apartment Thunder (2006)

Description: A film featuring Rosen's animations set to music by musicians David Toop and Tom Recchion.

Fantasia of Color in Early Cinema (2015)

Description: An animated book teaser and installation created in conjunction with the oversize monograph he co-authored and co-designed.
Exhibition: The accompanying video installation, "Fantasia Megamix," was shown at the EYE Film Museum in Amsterdam.

Commercial and academic animations

CNN State Magazine: Created animated elements for daily words related to election polling (2017).
Sotheby's Hong Kong: Produced animation for an exhibition titled "Curiosities" (2019).
Parsons School of Design: Creates animation title sequences for the final screening events of the Core 4D animation program. One sequence was included in the International Motion Art Awards collection.

Elaborate on how Jonathon Rosen repurposes animation loops in his visual music laboratory work

Jonathon Rosen repurposes animation loops in his "visual music laboratory" work by embracing chance systems, media migration, and collaborative experimentation. Rather than creating a single, linear film, he constructs a modular system of visual components that can be continuously reprocessed and reconfigured. Key aspects of his approach include: Viral reproduction and continuous evolution

"A consensual hallucination": Rosen describes the Synthetic Apparatus project with musician Van Hunt as a "consensual hallucination designed and manufactured to virally reproduce". This concept suggests that the loops are not static, but rather, are intended to be shared, reinterpreted, and spread, taking on new contexts as they are distributed online.

Ongoing and modular: The work is not a finished product but an "ongoing loop-based visual music laboratory". This implies that new loops can be added over time, and existing ones can be endlessly rearranged to create new visual sequences.

Live video reprocessing / Performance as improvisation:

For his live performances with musicians like T-Bone Burnett, Rosen uses his animation loops as a dynamic, responsive instrument. During these events, he engages in live video reprocessing, improvising and manipulating the visual loops in real-time in response to the music.

Creating a "nervous system": Rosen has expressed a preference for the "accidents and chance systems that contribute to the creation of moving pictures that have a pulse and a nervous system". This ethos is central to his live work, as the spontaneous remixing of loops gives the visuals an unpredictable, biological quality.

Migration between mediums

Static to moving: Rosen's process of media migration, in which he moves images between static and moving formats, is essential to his loop-based work. A drawing or collage he created on paper might be scanned, animated into a short loop, and then integrated into a live performance.

Layering and evolution: The layering techniques he uses in his static artwork—such as working with tracing paper—are echoed in his animated loops. He builds upon and remixes his own material, causing it to evolve in new directions across different platforms.

Precedent in older technologies

Echoes of the praxinoscope: Rosen's interest in loop-based visuals dates back to his early exposure to devices like the praxinoscope, which used a magic mirror to animate loops on record labels. This historical influence informs his modern repurposing of loops, bridging obsolete technology with current digital tools.

Elaborate on how Rosen integrates obsolete tech in his animation process

Jonathon Rosen integrates obsolete technology into his animation by using analog methods and media migration to deliberately introduce "accidents and chance systems". This creates moving images with a visceral quality that he describes as a "pulse and a nervous system". Key ways he brings obsolete tech into his animation process include:

Drawing with tracing paper layers: Rosen often starts his animation with the same technique he uses for static images: building complex compositions with multiple layers of tracing paper. By treating the drawing as an "archaeological dig," this manual process creates depth and complexity before the image is even digitized.

Analog photocopier manipulation: Before moving a project to the computer, Rosen uses an analog photocopier to collage separate hand-drawn images. This low-fidelity, physical process intentionally introduces glitches, distortions, and unpredictable effects that are difficult to replicate cleanly with modern software.

Embracing printmaking textures: As an experienced fine-art editions printmaker, Rosen incorporates the handmade textures and methods of analog print processes like silkscreening into his animations. This background influences his visual aesthetic, giving his digital animations a tactile, graphic-novel quality.

Migrating media across platforms: A core part of Rosen's creative process is the constant movement of images between static and moving formats. A hand-drawn illustration might be scanned and animated, with that digital loop then reprocessed in a live performance. A video sequence can be deconstructed into still images and reconfigured into a collage painting. This perpetual recycling of material allows components to evolve and take on new textures as they pass through different technologies, both old and new.

Live video reprocessing: For musical projects like T-Bone Burnett's The Invisible Light, Rosen performed live video reprocessing. He improvises with his animated loops in real-time in response to the music, treating the visual components as a dynamic instrument rather than a pre-rendered, final product. This performance-based approach channels the energy of live performance through analog-inflected digital visuals.

Elaborate on how Jonathon Rosen's printmaking informs his animation

Jonathon Rosen's extensive background in printmaking directly informs his animation by influencing his visual language, process, and overall philosophy of media migration. His work as an editions printmaker for seven years means he views images not as a single, static object but as a matrix of elements that can be altered, layered, and reproduced.

Multiple impressions.

The spirit of the multiple: Printmaking is, by its nature, the art of the multiple. This concept transfers directly to Rosen's animation, where he sees each frame as a unique "impression" or variation pulled from a core image matrix. This approach contrasts with the standard method of drawing new, distinct frames for each moment of action.

Unique variations: In printmaking, slight differences appear between impressions due to the manual process. Rosen embraces this idea in his animation, allowing for imperfections and "accidents" to give his sequences a more organic, tactile quality that diverges from perfectly clean digital animation.

Layering and depth

Building the image matrix: Printmaking, especially processes like screenprinting (silkscreen), relies on building up an image through different layers of color and texture. Rosen applies this same principle in his animation, using tracing paper and an analog photocopier to build his compositions in layers before digitizing them. This process is what he refers to as the "drawing as an archaeological dig".

Visual density: The effect of multiple layers in printmaking is a rich, often textured visual. This translates to his animated work, where he creates a sense of depth and density by layering different elements, including hand-drawn images, manipulated photographs, and digital effects.

Image migration and recycling

Plates and transfers: The act of transferring an image from a plate or screen to a new surface is fundamental to printmaking. Rosen mimics this in his animation by constantly migrating and recycling his images across different mediums. A motif or illustration from a drawing can be scanned and animated into a video loop, with that loop later being broken down into collaged stills that are used in a painting.

Reconfiguring the source: Just as a printmaker might alter a plate to create variations in a print series, Rosen reconfigures and modifies his visual source material as it migrates between formats. This constant evolution prevents his work from becoming stale and allows his ideas to take on new life in each new medium.

Emphasis on texture and chance

Analog "glitches": Rosen's use of analog tools like the photocopier introduces a low-fidelity, physical texture that digital tools cannot perfectly replicate. This is similar to the happy accidents and imperfections that can occur during the physical process of printmaking.

Embracing improvisation: Printmaking requires a certain degree of improvisation to respond to the unique characteristics of the materials. This informs Rosen's approach to live video reprocessing, where he manipulates his animation loops in real-time, allowing for the kind of chance operations and creative accidents that give his visuals a "pulse and a nervous system".

Give examples of how Rosen reconfigures images when migrating them between animation and painting

Jonathon Rosen reconfigures images when migrating them between animation and painting by extracting key frames, re-contextualizing elements, and applying his distinctive textural methods. This practice is central to his artistic process, which embraces "boundary blurring in both media and context".

Here are examples of how Rosen reconfigures images:From animation to painting

Collaged stills: Rosen frequently pulls "modified or collaged stills" directly from his animated works to form the basis of a static painting. This process is a direct reversal of traditional animation, where drawings become moving images. Here, the moving image becomes the source material for a static one, often with new textures and layers added on top.

Example: Synthetic Apparatus: In this ongoing "visual music laboratory," the constantly reconfigured animation loops are meant to be a "consensual hallucination designed and manufactured to virally reproduce". The same visual motifs and moving images that appear on screen have been reconfigured into static, acrylic-on-wood panel paintings, such as the two-panel piece Being and Essence (2018), which takes on a new permanence when frozen in time on a canvas.

Embracing low-fidelity: The "accidents and chance systems" that give his animation a visceral quality are intentionally preserved and even amplified when translated into a painting. This means a visual glitch or a blur from a digital animation might become a deliberately painted texture or pattern on the physical canvas.

From painting to animation

Rotoscoping paintings: When moving from a static image to a moving one, Rosen has been known to use a process similar to rotoscoping. In this technique, he creates original paintings or oil projects and then animates over them, tracing their shapes. This allows him to maintain the original aesthetic and color palette while bringing the image to life.

Recreating textures: A key part of this process involves recreating the tactile quality of a painting—such as brushstrokes, layering, and texture—within the digital environment of the animation. This ensures a consistent artistic voice across different mediums and brings the handmade quality of his paintings into his moving pictures.

Migration as a continuous cycle

Fluid movement: For Rosen, the transition between animation and painting is not a one-way street but a fluid cycle. Illustrations can be animated, and video sequences can be reconfigured into collaged paintings, allowing for a constant evolution of his ideas.

Ongoing experimentation: The practice of migrating and reconfiguring images is not a simple technical procedure for Rosen, but an "ongoing experiment" in blurring boundaries. This constant reprocessing and repurposing of his own work is a core part of his creative philosophy.

Give a specific example of how Rosen reconfigures an animated sequence into a painting

A specific example of Jonathon Rosen reconfiguring an animated sequence into a painting is the two-panel acrylic-on-wood work, Being and Essence (2018). This piece was created as part of his ongoing "visual music laboratory" collaboration with musician Van Hunt, titled Synthetic Apparatus.

Here is how the reconfiguration process works:

Source Material: The project's source material consists of visual loops and animations created by Rosen. These moving pictures are a "consensual hallucination" designed to reproduce virally online and are used in live performances alongside Van Hunt's music.

Capturing a Moment: The two paintings, each measuring 24"x24", are essentially "collaged stills" pulled from this animated stream. While the animations are in constant motion, Rosen selected a particular composition and froze it in time.

Translating to a New Medium: The images were then translated from a digital, moving-image format to a physical, static painting. This required Rosen to recreate the visual effects of his digital animation—such as color, depth, and layering—using acrylic paint on wood panels.

Amplifying Texture: In the process, the low-fidelity effects or "accidents" from his analog-influenced animation could be amplified. A visual glitch from the original loop, for example, might become a deliberately painted texture or a subtle physical imperfection on the wood panel.

New Context: By reconfiguring the animated sequence into a painting, Rosen moves the work into a new context. A fleeting, immersive, and digitally reproducible video loop becomes a tangible object with a singular presence. The work's metaphysical subject matter—the relationship between consciousness (Being) and identity (Essence)—is given new permanence and weight in this static, physical form.

In addition to Being and Essence (2018),
other paintings related to Jonathon Rosen's Synthetic Apparatus animations are likely part of the ongoing project, which he describes as a "loop-based visual music laboratory". Given the nature of the project—a "consensual hallucination manufactured to virally reproduce"—the creative process is continuous and involves a constant recycling and repurposing of imagery across different mediums.

While Rosen's official website specifically names Being and Essence, his workflow suggests other related static pieces could exist:

Other collaged stills: The animations provide a rich source of material for creating new paintings. Rosen's practice of capturing "modified or collaged stills" means any number of individual frames or compositions could be repurposed into a static artwork at any time.

Live video reprocessing: The "live video reprocessing" that Rosen performs with musician Van Hunt is an improvisational act, meaning each performance generates unique visual outcomes. Certain compelling moments from these performances could be captured and developed into paintings.

Digital-to-physical transfer: The ongoing project blurs the line between digital and physical. A painting can be the final form of a visual idea that began as an animation loop, embodying a specific moment from the endless cycle of the Synthetic Apparatus.

To find other specific works, one would need to follow Rosen's exhibition history or check his studio website for updates, as the project is a continuously evolving body of work rather than a closed series.

Elaborate on how Rosen's live video reprocessing with Van Hunt influences related paintings

Jonathon Rosen's live video reprocessing with Van Hunt significantly influences his related paintings by introducing an element of improvisation, chance, and "visual music" into his static work. Instead of the paintings being the origin of the animations, the live performance serves as a generative source, freezing moments of dynamic, responsive imagery into a permanent form.

Here is how the live reprocessing influences his related paintings:

1. Capturing improvised moments

Performance as a laboratory: The live shows with Van Hunt are not pre-scripted but are an improvisational "visual music laboratory". Rosen manipulates his animated loops in real-time in response to the music, creating spontaneous and unique visual compositions.

Freezing a frame: When these live visual compositions are translated into paintings like Being and Essence, it is like capturing a still photograph from a dynamic event. The paintings become a permanent record of a fleeting moment in the performance. This process reverses the usual flow of art production, where a finished painting might inspire a moving picture.

2. Embracing chance and "glitches"

Visceral quality: Rosen has expressed his preference for the "accidents and chance systems" that give his moving pictures a "pulse and a nervous system". This visceral quality, born from analog techniques and real-time manipulation, is intentionally preserved and even amplified when translated into a painting.

Intentional imperfections: A visual glitch, a momentary blur, or a unique layering effect from the live performance is not discarded but is incorporated into the physical artwork. The painterly textures in the acrylic-on-wood panels become the physical manifestation of a digital accident, bringing a raw, energetic quality to the static piece.

3. Reflecting the soundscape

Sensory cross-pollination: The live interaction with Van Hunt's music deeply informs the paintings. While the music and visuals are distinct, they are conceived as part of a single, immersive sensory experience. When Rosen translates these visuals into a static painting, the work retains a sonic memory of the performance.

Visual translation of music: The rhythmic, flowing, or chaotic nature of the music is implicitly embedded in the resulting painting's composition, color palette, and sense of movement. A turbulent musical section might correspond to a painting with a dense, chaotic layering of visuals, while a more melodic passage might be captured in a composition with a clearer, more defined structure.

4. Reinforcing themes of media migration

A fluid process: The creation of paintings from live video reinforces Rosen's core philosophy of media migration—the constant blurring of boundaries between static and moving images. The paintings are not separate from the animation; they are an integral part of its life cycle, flowing back and forth between different mediums.

Evolving imagery: This practice shows that for Rosen, images are not fixed but are fluid entities that can be endlessly repurposed, reconfigured, and re-contextualized. A visual idea can begin as a tracing paper drawing, become a digital animation loop for a live show, and then be frozen into a physical painting, each stage adding a new layer of history and texture.

Elaborate on how live video reprocessing techniques influence the textural qualities of paintings derived from Synthetic Apparatus?

Jonathon Rosen's live video reprocessing with Van Hunt is a vital step in creating the tactile, imperfect textural qualities found in paintings derived from the Synthetic Apparatus project. The performance acts as a filter through which analog-inflected digital visuals are further "degraded" and infused with a raw, improvisational energy before being frozen in paint on a canvas.

Here is an elaboration on the process:
1. The analog "pre-production"Rosen's textural journey begins well before the live performance.

Tracing paper layers: His drawings are created through a hands-on process of layering tracing paper, which creates a manual sense of depth and a certain ghost-like, hazy quality.

Photocopier artifacts: He then physically runs these layered drawings through an obsolete analog photocopier. This process intentionally introduces low-fidelity artifacts, glitches, and visual noise that contrast with the precise, clean lines of pure digital art.

2. Live digital manipulation

In the live performance setting, Rosen manipulates these pre-produced visual elements in real-time, often using software that allows for video mixing and manipulation.

Chance and chaos: The live environment is unpredictable, forcing Rosen to improvise in response to Van Hunt's music. He embraces these "accidents and chance systems" that give his work "a pulse and a nervous system". This real-time, imperfect manipulation adds another layer of visceral texture that cannot be planned in advance.

Signal degradation: While the final output is digital, the live manipulation of the visual loops—layering them, blending them, and responding to the music—creates a form of digital signal degradation. The images are processed and re-processed on the fly, mimicking the physical wear and tear of analog media.

3. The translation to canvas

When a specific moment from the performance is selected to become a painting (like Being and Essence), the textural qualities acquired through the live reprocessing are meticulously re-created using traditional media.

Intentional imperfections: The "digital glitches" and artifacts created during the live show are not smoothed out. Instead, they are deliberately rendered in acrylic on the wood panel. A fuzzy edge, a visual artifact, or a moment of visual chaos is transformed into a deliberate, hand-painted textural element.

Recreating depth: The layering effect, which started with tracing paper, was expanded in the digital reprocessing, and is finally given a physical permanence on the canvas. The paintings capture not just the image, but the sense of depth and visual noise that accumulated through the analog-digital-analog process.

Tactile and visceral: The finished painting is, in a sense, a physical record of a digital and improvisational moment. The tactile quality of the brushstrokes and the physical texture of the paint on the wood panel embody the energy and imperfection of the live performance, giving the static piece a visceral, lived-in feel.

In summary, Rosen's live video reprocessing acts as a crucial bridge where analog textures meet digital chaos, with the resulting hybrid visuals then meticulously translated back into a static, physical painting. This process gives the paintings a rich, multi-layered texture that reflects the journey of the image itself through both obsolete and cutting-edge technology.

Give examples of glitches Rosen incorporates into his paintings

Examples of glitches Jonathon Rosen incorporates into his paintings, especially those derived from the Synthetic Apparatus project, include visual noise, intentional blurs, pixelation, and distorted, overlapping imagery. These imperfections are not random but are the result of a deliberate process involving obsolete analog tools and real-time digital video manipulation.

Examples of incorporated glitches, Visual noise and artifacts;

Source: Rosen first uses obsolete analog photocopiers to manipulate his multi-layered drawings. This process naturally introduces low-fidelity visual noise, such as streaks, speckles, or an uneven texture, as the image is transferred.

Translation to painting: When an image from the Synthetic Apparatus is chosen for a painting like Being and Essence, Rosen meticulously re-creates this visual noise with acrylics on the wood panel. The digital artifact from the animated loop becomes a hand-painted, tactile texture.

Intentional blurs and motion smudges

Source: During live video reprocessing, Rosen rapidly manipulates and layers his visual loops in response to Van Hunt's music. This live, improvisational mixing causes momentary digital blurs and motion smudges, which are normally considered flaws.

Translation to painting: These fleeting digital blurs are intentionally preserved and translated into static painterly effects. An intentional blur on the canvas captures the energy and speed of the live performance, freezing a moment of dynamic visual chaos.

Pixelation and compression artifacts

Source: As images are constantly migrated between analog, digital, and live-reprocessing phases, a natural degradation occurs, similar to a compressed video file. This can lead to noticeable pixelation or artifacts at the boundaries of different image components.

Translation to painting: Rosen embraces this "signal degradation." A painting derived from these animations may feature areas with blocky, pixelated aesthetics painted in fine detail. This technique highlights the journey of the image through various technological platforms.

Distorted and overlapping imagery

Source: The layering process, from the initial tracing paper drawings to the live video mixing, is a core aspect of Rosen's method. When images are layered and manipulated in real-time, the result is often a distorted, fragmented, and partially overlapping composition.

Translation to painting 2: In the final painting, these distorted and overlapping images are rendered with deliberate permanence. An image might be broken into multiple planes, with fragments visible through a distorted lens, reflecting the chaotic and improvisational nature of its animated source.

In short, Rosen's glitches are the deliberate result of his process, not accidental errors. They serve as a physical record of the image's journey through different technologies and are intentionally integrated into the final painting to give it a visceral, layered texture and a sense of history.

Give a specific example of how a blur from live video reprocessing is translated into a textural element in one of his paintings

There are no publicly documented specific examples of a blur from Jonathon Rosen's live video reprocessing being directly translated into a textural element in one of his paintings. Rosen's process is private and improvisational, making it difficult to pinpoint a single, verifiable instance. However, based on his established methods, here is a breakdown of how such a translation would occur in a painting like Being and Essence:

The improvisational video blur

Live performance context: In his Synthetic Apparatus project, Rosen performs live video reprocessing alongside musician Van Hunt. This involves manipulating and layering animated loops in real-time in response to the music.

Momentary visual chaos: During a fast-paced or chaotic musical moment, Rosen might rapidly blend or shift between video loops. This live manipulation, akin to a DJ scratching records, would result in momentary digital blurring or image smudging on the screen. It is an effect of rapid, real-time action rather than a pre-scripted animation.

2. Capturing the transient effect

Creative capture: Rosen or a collaborator would either capture this specific, fleeting moment of visual chaos as a digital still image or use it as a memory prompt for the painting. This "happy accident" becomes the source material for the static artwork.

3. Translation into painterly texture

Recreating the blur: The artist would then use paint to manually recreate the appearance of the digital blur on the wood panel. Unlike a photograph that naturally captures motion blur, this requires a deliberate, hand-painted effort.

Specific textural elements:

Feathered edges: A portion of an image that appeared blurred on the screen might be rendered in the painting with soft, feathered edges and a lack of sharp detail, mimicking the look of digital motion blur.

Layered translucency: Rosen's layering technique could be used to create the illusion of a blur. Instead of a hard line, he might paint multiple semi-translucent layers of paint, suggesting movement and a partial view of what lies beneath, much like how a live video mix partially reveals layers.

Directional strokes: The direction of the blur in the animated loop could be suggested by the direction of the brushstrokes in the painting. For instance, a horizontal digital blur could be painted using fine horizontal brushstrokes to create a sense of motion.

4. Integrating with other textures

Layering with other glitches: This painted blur would then be integrated with the other textures in the painting, such as the visual noise from his photocopier work or the defined edges of other image components.

Multi-layered history: The resulting painting becomes a physical record of the image's journey, from the analog noise of the photocopier to the real-time blur of the live performance, all rendered in a single, static object.

What other media does Rosen use to explore bio-mechanical and carnivalesque themes?

Jonathon Rosen uses a wide range of media to explore his bio-mechanical and carnivalesque themes, constantly blurring the line between static and moving images. His approach often involves migrating imagery across platforms to allow his ideas to evolve.

Artist books

Purpose: Rosen has created several artist books to explore his metaphysical and bio-mechanical interests. These books function as standalone artworks and are featured in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, MoMA Library, and the Getty Research Center.

Examples:

The Birth of Machine Consciousness (2003): This book visualizes and explores the concept of machine consciousness, a core bio-mechanical theme for Rosen.

Intestinal Fortitude (1990): Published early in his career, this book embodies his aesthetic of complex, layered imagery and explores themes of inner workings and resilience.

Psychic Transplant of Neural Topiary

Style: The books often incorporate his layered drawings and collaged imagery, creating a sequential, narrative exploration of his recurring ideas.

Commercial illustration

Medium: He has worked as a freelance illustrator for a wide range of high-profile clients, using his unique style to create conceptual images.

Examples: His illustrations have appeared in magazines such as The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, and Psychology Today. For these commercial works, he adapts his bio-mechanical and carnivalesque motifs to fit the given brief.

Album artwork and music videos

Medium: Rosen collaborates with musicians to create cover art, booklets, and music videos that extend his visual themes into a musical context.

Examples:

T-Bone Burnett: He provided LP booklet art for Burnett's album The Invisible Light: Spells and performed live video reprocessing at accompanying performances.

Elysian Fields: He directed and animated the music video for their song "Dispossessed".

Christopher O'Riley: Created a music video for O'Riley's cover of Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box".

Installations

Medium: Rosen also creates installation art, which allows him to expand his themes into a physical, immersive space.

Examples:

Fumetto International Festival: In 2006, he exhibited his work in an installation titled "Meat Grinder of the Soul" at the festival in Luzern, Switzerland.

EYE Film Museum: In 2015, he installed "Fantasia Megamix," a video installation related to his co-authored book Fantasia of Color in Early Cinema.

Design and visual strategy

Medium: As a visual strategist, Rosen applies his creative process to broader design challenges, providing conceptual art, storyboards, and animated visuals.

Process: This work often involves building a visual identity or narrative that can be applied across various media, from print to motion graphics.

Give examples of how Rosen adapts his bio-mechanical themes in commercial illustrations

Jonathon Rosen adapts his bio-mechanical themes in commercial illustrations by integrating his layered, human-machine aesthetic with the specific concepts of an assignment, distilling complex ideas into a single compelling image. He has done this for publications like The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Psychology Today.

Examples of bio-mechanical themes in commercial illustration:

Psychology Today: Psychosomatic illness

Concept: For a 2017 issue of Psychology Today, Rosen created an illustration for a piece on psychosomatic illness, the idea that unconscious thoughts can make a person physically ill.

Adaptation: Rosen likely used his signature bio-mechanical imagery to depict the merging of the mind and body. An internal bodily function might be shown as a machine, with a flawed mental process represented as a malfunction within that machine. This visualizes a psychological concept in a tangible, bio-mechanical way, making an abstract idea concrete.

The New York Times: Capital punishment and physiology

Concept: Rosen has created several illustrations for The New York Times, including for articles on capital punishment (2018) and the physiology of thirst (2017).

Adaptation:

Capital punishment: For the article on capital punishment, he could have represented the complex ethical and biological aspects of death by merging mechanical instruments with the human body in a visually stark and thought-provoking way. The "machine" of the justice system is shown as an intrinsic part of the human, reflecting the ultimate union of man and mechanism.

Physiology of thirst: In the illustration for the physiology of thirst, Rosen could have depicted the internal mechanisms of the human body as a complex, bio-mechanical system. This turns the natural process of feeling thirsty into a visual diagram of a machine in need of fuel, reflecting the mechanistic nature of biology.

SVA Subway Series: "Art Is"

Concept: In 2019, Rosen designed an "Art Is" subway poster for the School of Visual Arts (SVA), intended as both a public and personal manifesto.

Adaptation: Rosen adapted his bio-mechanical and layered work to create a piece that reflected the creative process. The illustration depicted a stylized, almost mechanical eye that seemed to be observing the world, with intricate, layered patterns flowing out of it. This image suggests that the act of "seeing" or creating is a complex, almost mechanical, process of interpretation and output. The bio-mechanical aesthetic gives the public-facing manifesto a sense of intricate depth and philosophical weight.

Editorial illustrations

Rolling Stone: For Rolling Stone magazine, Rosen likely used his bio-mechanical style to create album covers or editorial illustrations that merge human figures with mechanical or surreal elements, aligning with the musical themes.

Time Magazine: For Time, he would have adapted his aesthetic to a more journalistic or conceptual context, distilling complex news stories into symbolic, bio-mechanical images.

In each case, Rosen’s commercial work demonstrates a consistent application of his fine-art bio-mechanical vocabulary to a commercial need, proving that his artistic approach is versatile and adaptable.

Give examples of how Rosen portrays carnivalesque themes in commercial illustration

Jonathon Rosen incorporates carnivalesque themes into his commercial illustrations by using a visual vocabulary of masquerade, grotesque imagery, and ritualistic energy to comment on contemporary subjects. He draws inspiration from Medieval art, 19th-century circus posters, and Surrealism to subvert expectations and blur the lines between reality and artifice.

Examples of carnivalesque themes in commercial illustration

Editorial Illustration for Psychology Today

Context: For a 2017 article on psychosomatic illness, Rosen created an illustration that visually explains the baffling connection between the mind and body.

Carnivalesque elements:

Grotesque body: While the specific image is not publicly detailed, Rosen's signature style would likely apply a carnivalesque approach to depicting the grotesque body. This involves focusing on the internal mechanisms and blending them with external forms, which is central to a carnivalesque reversal of conventional ideals of the body.

Inversion of norms: The illness itself can be seen as a carnivalesque inversion, where the "normal" body is disrupted and behaves in an abnormal, spectacle-like manner. Rosen's work would visualize this disruption in a tangible, though surreal, form.

LP Booklet Art for T-Bone Burnett's The Invisible Light

Context: For T-Bone Burnett's album, Rosen created LP booklet art and performed live video reprocessing.

Carnivalesque elements:

Theatricality and ritual: The collaboration with a musician for both static art and live performance frames the work as a theatrical and ritualistic event, reminiscent of a carnival spectacle.

Visual music: Rosen describes his animated work as a "visual music laboratory" designed for a "consensual hallucination". This is a modern, multimedia equivalent of a carnival atmosphere, where sound and vision combine to create an immersive, altered reality for the participants.

Illustrations for The New York Times

Context: Rosen has created illustrations for articles on various topics, including capital punishment.

Carnivalesque elements:

Subversion and reversal: In the context of an illustration for capital punishment, Rosen's carnivalesque style would subvert the serious subject matter with grotesque and unsettling imagery. This mirrors the carnival's historical role in mocking and inverting authority. The machine of justice might be shown as a bizarre, grotesque carnival contraption, emphasizing the disturbing theatricality of state-sponsored death.

In these examples, Rosen's use of carnivalesque themes is never purely decorative. It is a tool for commentary, allowing him to layer subversion, spectacle, and grotesque aesthetics into commercial work that might otherwise require a more straightforward approach.

Give an example of grotesque imagery Rosen might use for capital punishment illustrations

Drawing upon Jonathon Rosen's established visual vocabulary, a grotesque image for a capital punishment illustration would likely combine the medical and mechanical with decaying, vulnerable flesh. It would fuse elements of his bio-mechanical and carnivalesque themes to create a chilling commentary on the state-sanctioned process of killing.Here is a specific example of the grotesque imagery Rosen might use for a capital punishment illustration for The New York Times:

The Carnivalesque "Justice Machine"Concept:

The illustration would subvert the clinical, sterile imagery typically associated with lethal injection or the death chamber. Instead, Rosen would frame the procedure as a bizarre, ritualistic spectacle, much like a macabre carnival act.

Visual elements:

The prisoner as a spectacle: The prisoner's body is depicted not as a human being but as the centerpiece of an elaborate, rickety-looking contraption. The execution table is transformed into a stage, complete with faded, peeling circus-style paint.

Mechanical decay: Instead of clean, modern medical equipment, rusty, antiquated mechanical components are fused with the prisoner's body. An IV drip might be replaced by a system of intricate, grime-covered gears and levers. The machinery appears haphazard and clumsy, suggesting the process is less a precise medical procedure and more a grotesque, flawed performance.

Fusion of flesh and machine: Rosen's bio-mechanical motif would be in full effect. A transparent hose carrying the lethal injection fluid could be shown not simply entering a vein, but as a metallic, root-like tendril burrowing deep into the flesh, blurring the line between the human body and the mechanical apparatus.

Internal exposure: To heighten the grotesque effect, the illustration might show the prisoner's skin partially peeled away, exposing the corrupted, mechanical systems inside. The chest cavity could be revealed to contain not a beating heart, but a series of broken gears and corroded wires, symbolizing the dehumanizing nature of the process.

The face as a mask: The prisoner's face, a locus of Rosen's carnivalesque interest in masks and disguise, would be distorted. It might be frozen in an expression of shock or pain, appearing more like a theatrical mask than a human countenance. Alternatively, the face could be partially obscured by a device of polished brass and glass, turning the act of dying into a viewing spectacle.

Symbolic observers: In the background, muted, ghostly figures could represent the indifferent spectators of the state-sanctioned ritual. They would appear as indistinct shadows, their features obscured, emphasizing the passive, voyeuristic nature of the act.

Impact: The illustration would be a grotesque satire of the death penalty. It would not rely on simple horror but on a blend of unsettling, surrealist imagery and mechanical dehumanization to critique the process. By framing the execution as a flawed, theatrical machine, Rosen would force viewers to confront the disturbing reality of state-sponsored killing in a way that transcends political rhetoric.

Elaborate on how Rosen's personal experiences or beliefs influence his bio-mechanical and carnivalesque themes

Jonathon Rosen's personal experiences and beliefs heavily influence his art, particularly his bio-mechanical and carnivalesque themes. Two major influences stand out: his upbringing around early motion picture technology and a specific, early-career observation that triggered his fascination with the human-machine interface. His personal curiosity and teaching career also play a role. Influence of his family's filmmaking background. Rosen's paternal grandfather was a key grip in classic Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s and invented the motion picture camera dolly and track system.

This connection to filmmaking influenced Rosen's art in several ways:

Technological exploration: Being raised around the mechanics of early filmmaking imbued Rosen with an inherent interest in technology, particularly its physical, mechanical nature. This translates to his work, where the intricate, mechanical aspects of the bio-mechanical are explored in detail.

Sensory and visual interest: His background exposed him to the powerful visual and sensory potential of moving images, from camera mechanics to the magic of the final product. This likely informed his view of art as a potent tool for creating a "consensual hallucination".

Narrative and performance: The world of filmmaking is one of storytelling and performance. This informs his carnivalesque themes, which often feature theatricality and ritualistic energy.

A Walkman and the birth of the bio-mechanical body. A pivotal personal experience for Rosen occurred in the early 1980s and fundamentally shaped his bio-mechanical focus:

Triggering image: Rosen has stated that the idea of the bio-mechanical body was triggered the first time he saw a person on the street "wired up to a Walkman".

"Cascade of images": This observation led to a "cascade of images" that became a primary focus of his artistic exploration. He recognized this early example of human and machine merging as a profound cultural shift.

Prophetic insight: At the time, such drawings were considered an "aberration," but Rosen correctly identified it as a harbinger of a future in which technology and human biology would become deeply intertwined. This early insight continues to define his work today, which explores the modern state of this human-machine synthesis.

Influence of teaching and curiosityAs a long-time instructor at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) and Parsons School of Design, Rosen's beliefs about learning and creativity also inform his work.

Stay curious: Rosen's advice to students—"Stay curious"—is also a personal guiding principle. His "omnivorous visual gluttony" and wide-ranging interests are continually fed by new media, technologies, and historical research, influencing his evolving art practice.

Learning and experimentation: He is inspired by learning and constantly challenges himself with new mediums, acknowledging that it makes him "uncomfortable" but is essential for growth. This commitment to experimentation and boundary-blurring directly fuels the diverse forms his art takes, from animation to painting to installation.

Student influence: He admits his students also introduce him to new cultural developments, keeping his work fresh and engaged with contemporary concerns.

Tell me more about how he uses tracing paper for animation

Jonathon Rosen's use of tracing paper for animation is a foundational analog technique that directly influences the textural, layered, and historical quality of his finished work. It is the first step in his "recombinant animation" process, where he builds up complex compositions before any digital work begins. The "drawing as archaeological dig"Rosen refers to his tracing paper process as "the drawing as archaeological dig". Instead of starting and finishing a drawing on a single sheet of paper, he uses multiple overlays of tracing paper.

Layering ideas: He begins with a core idea, which he draws in pen and ink on a base sheet.

Building complexity: He then adds additional layers of tracing paper on top, refining details, adding new imagery, and experimenting with variations.

Creating visual history: The process of layering creates a visual record of his creative decisions, giving the final image a sense of depth and a history of its own.

Blurring and ghosting effects; The transparency of the tracing paper is key to the final aesthetic of the animation:

Analog "blur": When animated, the subtle variations and semi-transparent quality of the tracing paper layers contribute to the visual noise and texture of the final piece. This creates a hand-drawn, almost ghost-like effect that contrasts with the clean lines of purely digital animation.

Subtle shifts: Because each layer is drawn manually, slight differences in the line work are inherent. When the image is captured digitally and animated, these subtle shifts create a more organic, tactile kind of movement.

Translating to the digital space.
The tracing paper process is a vital bridge between his analog and digital workflows.

Scanning the layers: After the drawing is complete, each tracing paper layer can be scanned individually.

Digital reassembly: These scanned layers can then be reassembled in animation software, where Rosen has precise control over their opacity, blending modes, and timing. This hybrid approach gives him the control of digital animation while preserving the unique textures created during the physical drawing process.

Informing loop-based animation. The modular nature of the tracing paper process directly informs Rosen's loop-based animation style:

Reusable components: Just as he layers tracing paper to build a complex drawing, he layers and mixes animated loops to create a dynamic visual sequence. The components are not fixed but are built to be endlessly rearranged and repurposed.

Constant recombination: This method allows him to constantly recombine and migrate his imagery across different media, as a drawing created with tracing paper can be animated into a video loop, which can then be frozen into a static painting.

Jonathon Rosen Studio

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