Bradley isn’t a party school.
Its Midwestern, small-town environment doesn’t paint the portrait of a vibrant nightlife. But until Dec. 15, the “What We Make Sacred” exhibit in Hartmann Hall opens a window to that scene for all students to experience.
Before the grand opening of the exhibit on Oct. 1, Bradley invited the exhibit’s artist, James Jaxxa, to speak to students. For Madelyn Havens, an instructor in residence in Bradley’s painting department, listening to the artist’s creative process is just as important as experiencing the art.
“Bringing artists in really shows the students here the possibilities that they have once they leave Bradley, especially when that means going to grad school and how to be a professional artist and how to operate in the art world like that,” Havens said.
But it wasn’t just art majors that flooded the room.
“I always enjoy hearing from people who have sort of figured themselves out emotionally and expressively,” Dillon Brinkley, a sophomore electrical engineering major, said. “I think it’s cool how much you can learn just from seeing what they’ve done.”
Jaxxa’s art is bright and demands attention with glitter and bold words. Still, other elements catch the eye just as much.
“There’s a very prominent usage of draping in his art,” Brinkley said. “In one of his pieces, it’s almost like he draped things over it as if to say he’s devoted his life to the expression through this medium.”
From the cathedral to the canvas
Hailing from a military family, Jaxxa grew up traveling the world in Catholic environments and later chose a horticulture major at Eastern Michigan University.
If there’s one thing Jaxxa learned through life and art, it’s that the start may look nothing like the final product.
“Part of the reason I started working with photographs is not only that I like the idea that memory is all these fragments, but it also made it a much easier way to work rather than trying to take a large piece of paper and get all the bubbles out,” Jaxxa explained. “So as I’ve worked and figured out what my own process is, I also used glitter to heal and close these lines and cuts that I’ve made in the photographs.”
The final product is often more Jaxxa and less photograph. His artistic additions indicate what story he wants the photos to tell.
“I’m continually trying to preserve those moments; the glitter preserves light, the photograph preserves an instinct,” the artist said. “My work continually asks: ‘What do we choose to make and pay attention to in the limited time that we have?’ For me, some of the answers are: community, memories, friendship, dance and pleasure.”
In the colorful “What We Make Sacred” exhibit, all these themes collide. Then comes the blend of clubs and cathedrals.
“I don’t practice Catholicism. I don’t really believe in the tenets of Catholicism, but if I go to a cathedral or a church or anything, I’m just so amazed by the statues and the glitter and the gold, and so I’m still so attracted to it,” Jaxxa said. “I think it’s just because that’s what I grew up with, you know? And so again, I’ve tried to take parts of that and then figure out ways that I can bring it back into my life.”
“I go to a lot of dance parties, and I just love nightlife. I love the lights. I love the camaraderie, the friendships. I love staying up all night long and waking up and it’s 5 a.m., and it’s light outside. That moment is just heaven,” Jaxxa recounted. “To me, it is literally life. It is life to just go dancing with your friends all night long. There is nothing better. The lights, the music, the friendship … just the joy, the fun. It’s just fun.”
Even though Bradley isn’t famous for its party scene, students can still enjoy the festivities for free by visiting Hartmann Hall, where the exhibit still stands.
It’s a bright, colorful party, and everyone’s invited.
