J. D. Blango
Theological Artist
Jaden Dejesus Blango is a mixed media artist currently earning his Masters in Theological Studies from Duke University.
Growing up in New York D.Blango was heavily influenced by the culture that flooded his senses, seeing street tags and big murals on the backsides of buildings is what began his journey into art. As a figurative artist D.Blango has spent years working on developing his technical sense and manner, inspired by the draftsmanship of Pontormo, Menzel, Degas and others. Following his departure from New York as a teenager D.Blango has shown work and given lectures throughout south Texas - on the role of art and the metaphysical in contemporary culture, and in 2021 was invited back to New York for an undergraduate residency at the New York Academy of Art.
D. Blango's interests lie in the intersections between Philosophical Theology, Mysticism, and the Cognitive Psychology of Imagination.
" The work I create is concerned with the theological ramifications of composition and space. My practice acts as a mode of philosophical/theological inquiry, whereby I engage critically, and holistically, through the contemplative dance of making. The pictures operate chiefly as the “how” of my inquiry, but also – and simultaneously, as an invitation to the viewer’s imagination. By inviting the viewer to “ imagine-that ”, an opportunity for God’s grace to move through the imagination is created. I understand this aspect of my practice as something like ministry to the imagination, and it begins with my own.
In my work, I inquire symbolically into the tension of the already, but not yet of God’s reality. The work takes on a trinitarian shape, and through the use of water, light, abstraction, and chance, I explore what this tension means for our perception of the present. By considering God as the hypostasis – the ground of reality itself (symbolically represented as the background of the picture) I make my first theological claim.
(God the Father)
The figures involved in the picture, by virtue of the figure-ground dynamic, are inextricably linked to this background. I consider this within the framework of my practice as an analogy for the inseparable union of the ground and the incarnated Son. (Son)
The relationship between these two, as well as to us as viewers, is facilitated by the movement of the Holy Spirit, by way of perception (Beholding). (Holy Spirit).
The philosophy of my practice is to offer the viewer an opportunity to encounter, contemplate, and imagine God’s immanence. Operating with this vision, I contemplate the present while holding a reverent awareness of the not yet – without sacrificing one for the sake of the other. I am concerned with their union, and their dance. And in this dance, the kingdom of God is at hand. Paradoxically, I believe it is here, in-and-through the space of the imagination that we are apprehended by God in the realest sense."
- Jaden
Visual Work
Transcendence: Through Visual Analogy
"Effort is grace in slow motion."
Mark Nepo
Academic Writing
Following Footsteps - Visual Art, Depth, and the Perichoretic Framework
Research Paper
Within Christian theology, the trinitarian doctrine of perichoresis (Greek: περιχώρησις) shares with us a reciprocal, potentially beneficial framework for communication. By modeling the non-competitive relationship between the three persons of the trinity – we can begin to contemplate the nature of the trinity in relation to us. In what way does this eternal relationship practically affect our contemporary culture? To use the analogy of dance, I argue that we are continuously and eternally invited into this expressive communication with the divine through the sublime nature of connection. The question is: What does this relationship look like, and how do we join in?
Public Engagement
D. Blango believes that the arts present an opportunity to foster creative, cultural, and ethical dialogue. For these reasons he has committed himself to active engagement with his community through visual art - via teaching, public works, and community services.
