Jesus “Jessie” Montes

b. 1935

Jessie Montes is a western Kansas folk artist who has been creating two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of art from corrugated cardboard since 1990.  Over 40 years ago Jessie Montes, who was born in 1935 and grew up in a large family, living in poverty in Mexico, the only survivor of five sets of twins, migrated to the United States. Having no formal education, Montes worked as a custodian for the Dodge City school district.  He had no schooling in art, and no previous history of art-making. He says that making his own toys was the beginning of his creativity; however, that creativity did not flourish until 1990, just before he retired. He is an extraordinary example of the phenomenon of a sweeping all-consuming and obsessive involvement with art-making that can overtake a person at any time, at any age and with no apparent warning. When Montes' son and daughter were called to duty for the Persian Gulf War, he quickly tried to find a way to relax.  "One day I just started cutting cardboard," said Montes. "I eventually made a picture frame for my son’s photograph," said Montes. Soon Montes started to experiment with different designs and themes. Jessie began creating his art by recycling waste corrugated boxes and bulletin board paper. Cutting the materials at three different angles, yielded him different textures, effects, and coloration. Then he tried using acrylic paints for more variety of color. Each work is brushed with a mixture of water and glue and, when dry, sprayed with varnish. The most impelling, single aspect of his brilliant and unmistakable work is its significant inventiveness, wholly his own. Montes' tools consist of cardboard cut in 1/4 inch strips, tweezers, a sharp razor blade, and paste. Montes' subject matter includes mixtures of ethnic and social influences, architectural themes, and popular culture references. The work varies from portraiture to landscape, it sometimes includes architecture and it always functions as excellent abstraction.  In other words, the work is totally consistent, but also has incredible range. – from Phyllis Kind Gallery

This amazing example of Elvis by Montes changes colors with the skin going from dark to light and the eyes following the viewer as you pass by.