Biography
Neil Jussila
JUS'-il-ah
Montana is
the place of his birth, in 1942, in the hard rock mining city of
Butte, Montana. It is
where, while a student at what was then Montana State College in
Bozeman, he found in the spontaneity of a lyrical line, a spiritual
presence which led to a lifelong affection for the art of drawing
and painting.
In the mix of
a background are: selection by the late Dr. David Rosand, Meyer
Schapiro Professor of Art History, to participate in an NEH seminar
on the History of Prints and Drawing at Columbia University, and,
chosen by Minimal artist, Robert Morris, to study the meaning of
drawing at Atlantic Center for the Arts.
From 1993 to 2013 there were 47 juried solo exhibitions and
19 invited one-man shows, and, becoming a Professor Emeritus of Art
at Montana State University in Billings, 2013, with a post
retirement agreement ending in 2014.
An artist in Residence experience in 2015 and 2016 at the
Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings led to the scrolls.
It was an
epiphany; a discovery; that a line could express a living presence
was reinforced in Vietnam which led to thinking about art in terms
of the big issues surrounding life, death and morality.
A thought reinforced over the years by a scroll once
accidentally found and purchased in Tokyo during the war.
Becoming a reminder about the ephemeral nature of being and a
different perception about the meaning of beauty and art.
The scroll
has always emanated an uncanny spiritual feeling which, for him, is
timeless. It is as alive
today as when first expressed with sweeping bold, black lines
accented by patches of white, depicting an early autumn snow on
bamboo leaves, which will soon vanish in warmth.
Becoming an expression of change and life's seasons.
It is a visual poem, which depicts nothing yet says
everything. Felt without
knowing why. It's about
being fully alive in the moment.
Magic!
Memento mori.
With a
feeling; an affinity for this long respected Asian tradition the
scroll has become an artistic platform for his work.
An application of a modern technology: a high-resolution
scanner, plotter and vinyl base has formed a different approach in
which selected preparatory and treasured past work (drawings in the
form of sketches and paintings) are created without the constraints
and restrictions of matting and framing, building crates and
storage.
Through
enlarging, optimal outcomes emerge.
Surprising revelations fortuitously occur which are
surprising and pleasurable.
For example many pieces show fine details barely visible in
the original.
Additionally the open-ended setting of the format becomes a
meditation on a feeling within.
Expressing the mystery of soul so to speak.
The concept,
recently technologically realized, began decades ago.
The idea of merging ancient and modern techniques has
awakened something dormant come fully alive in seeing an unshakeable
curiosity finally realized.