Art Faculty: Jessica Martinkosky
Jessica Martinkosky is Assistant Professor of Fine Art/Ceramics at Blue Ridge Community College and teaches ceramics, three-dimensional design and art history. She received her MFA in Ceramics from Virginia Commonwealth University and her BFA from James Madison University. She completed a residency at the Cub Creek Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in August 2004. Jessica has taught at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk, VA, Tidewater Community College in Portsmouth, VA and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. She has participated in exhibitions throughout the United States, including Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Idaho and Connecticut. Sculptures can be viewed online at the
BRCC virtual gallery.
Her current work comments on organized religion, in particular Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Through this work, she explores how these religions have allowed their differences to overshadow their many similarities. The baby dolls are personifications of the religions themselves as spoiled children. The mold-produced similarities emphasize the one-God, one-ancestor commonality of the religions, while the related facial expressions point to the mutuality of their frequently negative feelings. The virtually identical skin pigmentation of the figures in each piece also reflects the collective ethnic heritage of the peoples of the three faiths. The clothing and other fabric elements are hand-sewn to pull the viewer’s mind back to the past and remind her or him that these religions have been at odds for centuries.
In some pieces, the color red is used to represent all the blood that has been spilled in God’s name, while in other pieces, it references an old method of advertising a person’s inappropriate behavior, as in the novel The Scarlet Letter. The inclusion of snakes or portions of them reference the serpent in the Garden of Eden, as well as human feelings about snakes, both human and reptilian. The slit shape of the figures’ pupils, as well as the lack of ears, continue this reference. Nonexistent ears and eyes also indicate a willful refusal to listen or see, not just an inability to use these senses. Symbols indicating the faiths of the figures are applied to garments, or appear as diaper pins, headband decorations, necklaces or tattoos.