Today we’d like to introduce you to Stacey Jordan.
Hi Stacey, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I graduated from Cal Poly, Pomona with a BFA, Graphic Design option. After graduating a family friend told me about an internship opening the Press-Enterprise Newspaper located in Riverside, CA. I applied and got the internship. I worked that paid internship of a year. Luckily, the assistant graphics department editor saw my last assignment, an infographic, published in the Press-Enterprise. She contacted me about an opening in the graphics department at The Orange County Register (In 1993). I got the job and worked as an infographics artist for the weekly newspapers, moved up to the daily paper, and worked at The Register until leaving in 2006 for a career shift to litigation graphics. I’ve worked in litigation graphics since 2006 and currently work as a trial consultant. The common thread, from infographics to trial consulting, is simplifying complex data into easy-to-understand and relatable visual stories. This ability to simplify complex ideas opened the door for me to express my thoughts in my personal artwork. I found my personal creative voice when I really needed to express how I felt during the George Zimmerman trial and his acquittal in the death of Trevon Martin under the “stand your ground” defense.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It was really difficult for me to feel comfortable expressing myself through my personal artwork. I’ve been creating art for infographics, contract disputes, labor and employment, and intellectual property, among other types of cases, illustrating on the computer. For some reason, until I had a lightbulb moment during the George Zimmerman trial, I felt like I needed to express myself with paint. It was frustrating over the years because I felt like I couldn’t technically achieve what was going on in my brain. So, I kept a lid on on things and spent too many years bottling up my thoughts since I wasn’t able to create what I wanted to express. But one day I thought why not express myself using the medium I know well, the computer. Since then, I started developing a process of creating my art digitally and layering my original prints with acrylic paint and other collage techniques. Once I started this process, I was able to express myself, and I feel more creatively open with each piece I create.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I feel like my ability to take a complex subject matter and convey it in a simple form sets me apart from others. My career experience in journalism and litigation plays a major role in my ability to create impactful messages. I’m not afraid to make my work ugly and gritty to achieve a certain expressive tone. My work: staceyjordan.art.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
It’s taken me a long time, but I feel like I’m at a place where I’m not shy about expressing exactly what I feel. I used to be worried about what audiences may think about some of the subject matters found in my work. I don’t apologize anymore because I feel it’s more important to express my real feelings. One example is a piece I created named “His Name Is Ruben Stacy.” It’s inspired by a photo of a mob lynching of a man named Ruben Stacy in 1935. Every time I ran across the photo, I’d look past Mr. Stacy and fixate on this little girl to the right of him, who looked like she was enjoying the day. I decomposed the image by drawing a color version of the little girl and putting her as the focal image of the piece. The point is to emphasize the dehumanization of Ruben Stacy by the viewer first seeing the little girl, then with closer review seeing the image of Ruben Stacy’s body. The position of his body removes the aspect of the lynching since the crowd in the photo appears to ignore the body hanging in the middle of this 1935 gathering.
Contact Info:
- Website: StaceyJordan.art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/StaceyJordan_Art/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-jordan-21938a23/
Image Credits
“A History of American Slavery” “Packin’ Skittles” “I Have Lots to Say” “Soar 2” “Gallery Day” “I Matter” “You Matter” “Living the Dream”
