"My art is designed to move you. Whether it moves you to the right or to the left, if it moved you I did my job."
- James Perez
As a child,
James Perez was exposed to an extremist religious cult known as
The Children of God (C.O.G.) where he experienced radical expression of organized Christianity in its most bohemian form. Documented in the book
Heaven’s Harlots: My Fifteen Years in a Sex Cult, C.O.G. encouraged prostitution of its female members to raise money for the cult and as a means of finding lost souls with which to share the Word of God. Like some modern Christian cults today, C.O.G. also believed in alien foundations for humanity. Under intense scrutiny in the 1980s for its leadership under
Moses David, the group was reformed and became known as The Family, which still exists today. Child survivors of the cult have established forums for expression and communal outcry against the psychological and sexual abuses they sustained under the watchful eye of this Christian sect, often sadly ending in murder and suicide. Exposure to this communal religious group from an early age predisposed James to a hardened view of the dangers and psychological damage that organized religion can inflict. James’ art is for him, personally, a way of reminding himself that the messages we receive through organized religion are the design of man, and that they are set apart from belief or disbelief in God.
James' recent work focuses on contradictions in spiritual existence, how our relationship with organized religion fits with human sexuality, social drug abuse, the evil acts of man, and our place as a life form in the universe. Handled separately, these subjects have benign and factual qualities that we compartmentalize. When handled together on one canvas, these subjects become increasingly uncomfortable, creating a confusing mixture of emotion more closely imitating the way we feel in the experience of human life. His paintings ask what we can accept about how our need for an organized explanation of existence clashes with the way we experience life, and ultimately whether we are able to accept the existence of each other. He uses surrealism and fantasy to create images that are widely interpreted, but which always are ultimately deeply personal to the patrons they speak to.
Gluttony (
oil on 5’x7’ canvas) depicts a seven-armed Kali-Ma Virgin Mary eating a plate of babies with a knife and fork. This work reminds us that religion
gobbles us up when we are children, and that humans are the meal ticket of the church.
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Lust (oil on 5'x7' canvas) shows an uglier view of the church, depicting reigning Pope Benedict seated at his throne and coddling an Altar Boy in his lap. This forces the patron to confront the truth about the atrocities of clergy abuse, and the sometimes ugly nature of the sin of Lust.
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Envy (oil on 5'x7' canvas) depicts child beauty queen Jean Benet Ramsey, exposed and stalked by a horde of ghouls (look for famous faces) who drool green glitter over the child's body as they stare at her. The child pageant industry has long attracted a following of child predators, envious of youth and beauty.
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Greed (
oil on 5'x5' canvas) shows an almost comical depiction of Christian Televangelist Tammy Faye Baker having a famous melt down. Her bus-driver fingernails clutch a handful of jewels and her face is framed by $100 bills.
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Pride (
oil on 5'x7' canvas) shows a portrait of our proud President martyred in a crucifixion. Even in the clutches of his darkest enemies, he appears blindly proud before his adversaries.
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Wrath (
oil 5'x7' canvas) is a depiction of the Prophet Mohammed with the face of 911 Terrorist Mohammad Atta. The spirit of the Koran gushes from its binding and the Afghan hills glitter with gold.
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Sloth (oil on 5'x7' canvas) depicts porn star Jenna Jameson laying on her back with her legs over her head in a bed of cocaine. This work reminds us that the now common practices of sex workers are best examples of what it means to be slothful.
