About John Rankine
John Rankine is an award winning, multimedia artist and photographer who originally hails from Toronto, Canada. He has called Eureka Springs home for the past 26 years where he has been actively involved in the arts community. Due to the pandemic, Rankine was forced to shut down the Eureka Fine Art Gallery, a co-op space he managed and co-owned with five other artists that showcased their works. He has been curating solo and group exhibitions at Brews, a coffee/craft beer/exhibition space he co-owns with his husband for the past 6 years. Rankine received the 2011 Arkansas Arts Council’s Individual Fellowship for outstanding achievement in the arts in Arkansas for his multimedia photo installation, “A Community at Peace” and was a recipient of the Artist 360 grant awarded to Arkansas artists through the Mid-America Arts Alliance and the Walton Foundation for his portrait series “Men With Earrings” in 2018. John lives with his husband in a straw bale house on ten acres of land with their two dogs and chickens, just outside Eureka Springs.
All four works were created in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
Billy’s Covid Beard – I am not sure how I convinced my always reluctant, camera shy husband to pose for this series documenting the stages of his ever-changing facial hair throughout the pandemic. Because of Arkansas’ mandatory mask rule, few if any, got to see what was underneath his mask while in public. Pride In A Pandemic (self-portrait) – With all Pride events cancelled because of the pandemic, I shot this self-portrait in the safety of my home, behind our clear door – the image of my beloved Ozark Mountains reflected in the glass. As a gay man of a certain age who survived one plague, I pay homage to the past with the pink triangle, which was tattooed or stitched on the clothing of gay men who fell victim to the Holocaust. The pink triangle was later used in the 80s, most notably in the Silence = Death logo, to bring attention to the AIDS epidemic ignored by the Reagan administration. The flower held outside the door, a symbol of optimism. Blind Faith & Blind Desire – These pieces were inspired by two ceramic doll molds given to me by a good friend.
About the art
John Rankine is an award winning, multimedia artist and photographer who originally hails from Toronto, Canada. He has called Eureka Springs home for the past 26 years where he has been actively involved in the arts community. Due to the pandemic, Rankine was forced to shut down the Eureka Fine Art Gallery, a co-op space he managed and co-owned with five other artists that showcased their works. He has been curating solo and group exhibitions at Brews, a coffee/craft beer/exhibition space he co-owns with his husband for the past 6 years. Rankine received the 2011 Arkansas Arts Council’s Individual Fellowship for outstanding achievement in the arts in Arkansas for his multimedia photo installation, “A Community at Peace” and was a recipient of the Artist 360 grant awarded to Arkansas artists through the Mid-America Arts Alliance and the Walton Foundation for his portrait series “Men With Earrings” in 2018. John lives with his husband in a straw bale house on ten acres of land with their two dogs and chickens, just outside Eureka Springs.
All four works were created in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
Billy’s Covid Beard – I am not sure how I convinced my always reluctant, camera shy husband to pose for this series documenting the stages of his ever-changing facial hair throughout the pandemic. Because of Arkansas’ mandatory mask rule, few if any, got to see what was underneath his mask while in public. Pride In A Pandemic (self-portrait) – With all Pride events cancelled because of the pandemic, I shot this self-portrait in the safety of my home, behind our clear door – the image of my beloved Ozark Mountains reflected in the glass. As a gay man of a certain age who survived one plague, I pay homage to the past with the pink triangle, which was tattooed or stitched on the clothing of gay men who fell victim to the Holocaust. The pink triangle was later used in the 80s, most notably in the Silence = Death logo, to bring attention to the AIDS epidemic ignored by the Reagan administration. The flower held outside the door, a symbol of optimism. Blind Faith & Blind Desire – These pieces were inspired by two ceramic doll molds given to me by a good friend.