Angels & Saints 137
Artist: Jon Christopher
2025
acrylic and enamel on canvas
30" x 24"
We all know Michael Jackson's story, from being a child star with the Jackson 5 at Motown to his worldwide solo success to his revolutionary music videos like Thriller to his increasingly strange track through excessive plastic surgery and a misguided marriage with Elvis' daughter and the suspicious behavior with young boys at his fantasyland ranch Neverland And I'm not here to pass judgment on it, because being a king of anything, much less the King of Pop music, a multi-trillion dollar industry, is a very high and lonely place where the only direction to go is down. It's a mountaintop. And mountaintops are to be visited, not made a permanent home. So this piece is about celebrating our celebration of him. It's the glossy album cover. The cute celebrity dates with Brooke Shields. The TV commercials. The award ceremonies. The movies and music videos. It's about the pretty illusion of being the King of Pop. The image. The beautiful mirage. Because sometimes reality sucks and make-believe is better. And if God gave us a brain that can dream, then I think there are times we should utilize its powers to the fullest. And I thank God for connecting my hands to my dreams, because only a small portion of us are born with this connection and ability. It allows me make a reality of them. Because rest assured, this painting is real. It's physical. It exists. I made it from scratch with my own 2 hands. And this is living proof dreams do indeed come true. Being an artist is very cool, folks. I was born with magical powers. Thank you, God.
