Vignette by Jonathan Thunder

Jonathan Thunder, Red Lake Ojibwe, is a multi-disciplinary artist. He is known for his surreal paintings, animated and experimental films, digital installations and illustration work. Thunder has attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM and studied Visual Effects and Motion Graphics in Minneapolis, MN at the Art Institute International. His work has been featured in state, regional, and national exhibitions, as well as in local and international publications since 2003. Thunder is a 2020 Pollock-Krasner Foundation grantee. At the core of my work is a story line that reflects my personal lens as a filter to the social, political, environmental and spiritual climate. I work with imagery that is surreal and imaginative by incorporating influences from the structure of my dreams, the culture around me and the direction my life is headed on any given day. I consider my work “vignettes” or short stories within a larger ongoing narrative that evolves as I evolve. I make what I see. I believe in the simplicity of a moment captured. Some cryptic or spontaneous imagery invites the viewer to create a portion of the narrative for themselves, or consider an interpretation. I enjoy merging my painter self with my filmmaker self to create art that lives and pushes the boundaries of a space.