Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerry Mcgrath
Hi Jerry, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m from Detroit, Michigan, my mom was Canadian, and my father was the first American born child in a large Irish family. My family’s journey took us through Ontario, Canada, before we finally settled in California. I hold an MFA, MA and BA in Art and have served as a tenured Professor of Art and Photography. In 2017, I transitioned into filmmaking, a move that has significantly enhanced my creative vision.
I continue to produce new artwork and have recently ventured into screenwriting following the release of the independent feature film, Love In Country (see the related photograph “THE UMBRA”). I am the Producer and Art Director for the movie. This journey has been a non-stop and constant work-in-progress! It can be streamed on most major platforms and is free to view on TUBI.
Most of my current art is created in Ireland and completed in California. My new work, A Thin Place, draws inspiration from Celtic mythology and historical family connections to the past. Additionally, my ongoing series, Chop Wood, Carry Water, is an exploration of learning to stay present in the moment, always a difficult task for me!
I have also worked on several social documentary projects. A Cup of Cold Water, set in India;
the photographic series focuses on sex trafficking especially as it pertains to very young children
and impoverished women.
In the 90’s I worked on an AIDS awareness project called This Is Our Yard, it featured environmental photographic portraits of individuals living with AIDS and a statement they wanted everyone to read. Their written responses are exhibited in English and Spanish. That project traveled throughout North America and was often exhibited with the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Our goal was to show that their faces were those of everyone you might meet: your neighbors, relatives, friends.
I also worked on gun control in my art. Two series: American Fragments and American Portraits. I’m quite passionate on the need to stop the crazed violence we all have to suffer through and to point out how misconstrued many folks are on our 2nd amendment discussion. “the right to bear arms” does refer to “a well-regulated militia,” and not to an individual. I also point out that each year there are more US murders, using guns, that take place in medium-sixed cities (like Santa Ana, CA) than in entire countries (the U.K. for example).
I’ve benefited greatly from international artist residencies, The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Ireland, The Banff Centre in Alberta Canada and The Global Arts Village in Delhi in India.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think anything that you create ever goes smoothly since you never know how it will turn out – even with the finest pre-visualization. The film was crazy during the shoot in burning hot Arkansas. Working on the streets in India was an eye opener, even the airport in Delhi was like being on a Fellini set. In Ireland I find great emotional comfort and a sense of well-being, and, a unusual spiritual connection with the past. I think creating itself is what I resonate with the most.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
What does success mean to you? Creating and being at peace with myself feels like a big success
to me. It’s emotional joy in what I’ve made, and then sharing my art with others.
Pricing:
- upon request
Contact Info:
- Website: e: [email protected] web: jerrymcgrath.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerrymcgrath/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerrymcgrathart/
- Other: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm1252441?ref_=hm_prof_name
Image Credits
All are original works created by me.
1. Umbra (re-write)
2. I Just Want to Fit In
3. The Crom Yew
4. They Had to Leave, Mary & Patrick McGrath
5. The Lake Opened Up and Took Them Both
6. Under the Roots, a Gift
7. 17 year-old Temple Prostitute
