Artist Bio
People Are People
By Paul Simpson
We possess the ability to see our similarities as people, even if we often choose not to do so. Perhaps even more powerfully, we have the ability to focus on our differences, such as race, social status, and disability in order to unite and create mutual spaces of healing and hope. For over 40 years, American artist and illustrator, Marty Jones, has attempted to create such spaces both in his complex personal art pieces and in his commissioned works for international clients.
Jones combines traditional illustration with digital to open conversations about the qualities that can bring us back into harmony. As he says, “All people are people. We must get past the notion that we as humans can exist merely as ideas—not just a specific gender, or a specific political party.” Partially disabled by a degenerative neurological condition for much of his life, his work seeks to bring an acute awareness of the importance of seeing far beyond the superficial to reach internal understanding and eventually profound wisdom.
Marty Jones has risen to this challenge with his new series, “Super Heroes Wear Scrubs.” Currently consisting of six digitally illustrated pieces, this collection focuses on various healthcare workers—usually alone and captured in personal moments during COVID-19 patient care. In controlled collapse, these vulnerable heroes are caught in desolate, sterile hospital corridors, inviting us to imagine the complexities of their thoughts and feelings and, as conduits of experience, those of their patients and their families—and, indeed, of the world.
At its best, art can enable us to take advantage of our differences. Marty Jones creates such art—bold and intimate—offering us the opportunity to unite and become better people. Never before has this message been more relevant or necessary to the world.
My retail store can be viewed at https://society6.com/mjartscom