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thePeorian.com
It
seems almost silly to ask
Preston Jackson about his
politics, especially if you
have spent any time at all study-
ing his work.
Yet, he isn’t wild about talking
about his politics, his beliefs, his
innermost feelings. That’s why
he has art; his works that are so
prevalent along Peoria’s river-
front do most of his talking for
him.
Those works speak out against
oppression and embrace the cour-
age to fight it. They depict the
fear of subjection and celebrate
freedom. They show a love of
all creatures big and small and
deplore the careless and senseless
acts that harm or destroy them.
His art clearly protests inequal-
ity and cries out for fairness.
“My art has always been
protest or social commentary. It
has never been ‘feel good’ art,”
Jackson said recently while work-
ing on his next large piece of art.
As yet untitled, it is a life-sized
sculpture of a female sperm
whale made of steel pipe. Run-
ning through the middle of the
whale is a string of plastic soda
and water bottles that have been
discarded.
“This piece is about life. Did
you know whale oil used to be
harvested from the head? People
would kill the sperm whale just
to get the whale oil. Now a big
source of destruction for these
animals are the plastic bottles
that have been discarded into
the ocean and then get ingested
by the whales,” he said while
standing atop the sculpture at the
Bartonville warehouse where he
does much of his larger works.
Hidden among the pipe struc-
ture of the whale are words the
68-year-old Jackson said sum up
what is happening to the whales.
Among them are “dioxin,”
“toxic” and “PVC.”
Jackson is arguably Peoria’s
best-known artist. That is largely
because of the finely detailed
metal sculptures he has done and
given to the city that are dis-
played along the riverfront from
Constitution Gardens to Liberty
Park, or work that can be seen
in many local buildings. That
includes the Contemporary Art
Center, which he helped found
and where his main studio is
located But it’s also because of his
art that is displayed in other cit-
ies, including Chicago; much of it
was commissioned.
His Art Speaks for Him
Preston Jackson expresses his beliefs in his work
By Paul Gordon
Personal Profile
Peoria artist Preston Jackson stands
on top of his latest metal sculpture,
depicting a female sperm whale, a
species that is becoming endangered
by pollution as well as by people who
will kill them to get whale oil.