For Rod Jones II (MFA ’19) his art practice goes beyond his personal studio at PAFA.

“My practice is going more in the direction of “the world is my studio,” he said. “It’s fun to be able to make or create whenever, wherever, however, and see what comes from it.”

While working in PAFA’s Broad Street Studio, Jones reacts to the people walking by and how they interpret his work. The space in the Hamilton building is an opportunity for students and PAFA community members to expand their practice into uncharted territory, frequently responding to the challenging space.

“I’m thinking of how to use the space because it's a good opportunity to have your work out there and have people experience it,” Jones said of the Broad Street Studio.

The uniquely shaped space is less suitable for conventional wall dependent works.

“I really like seeing people's reactions to the piece, people trying to figure things out or looking up and trying to read the signs, and trying to figure out the things that don’t make sense,” he said. “I think that's a really fruitful interaction to experience, especially while you’re making it.”

Instead of hiding away in a studio and getting a reaction after a piece is complete, Jones prefers continuous reaction in his art practice.

The inspiration for his work in the Broad Street Studio comes from a public installation by David Hammons. Higher Goals by Hammons consisted of five bottle cap-studded telephone poles ranging in height from 20’ to 30’ and was temporarily installed in Cadman Plaza Park in New York in the late 1980’s.

“It has basketballs rims that are impossible to shoot or score on and I thought I want to do something like that,” Jones said. “I didn’t make a hoop. I found this thing that looks like a face and thought what if it was a figure that tall and I liked the feeling of looking up.”

As Jones worked in the studio over two weeks, objects appeared and disappeared in the space, with him eventually focusing on making slightly minimalist found objects.

“I was thinking about ancestral grounds and playgrounds, death and defiance, beautifying the mundane, using materials to create a new dialogue,” he said while creating the piece.

In addition to reaction from people on the street, Jones also received feedback from artist Doreen Garner. Garner visited PAFA as a part of the Visiting Artist Program and spent the day lecturing and meeting with students in their studios.

The Visiting Artists Program is completely student-run and brings an outstanding roster of local, national and international artists to PAFA each semester. Visiting Artists this semester include Doreen Garner, Odili Donald Odita, and Njideka Akunyili Crosby. A typical artist visit includes a public lecture and then students have the opportunity to sign up for critiques.

When Garner was announced as part of the Fall 2018 Visiting Artist Program lineup, Jones knew he had to sign up for a critique with her.

“Doreen is one of my favorite artists, I have like an art crush on her,” he said. “She’s amazing, not only the work that she does is amazing like sculpture but she’s a tattoo artist and she teaches.”

Jones is also a tattoo artist and wanted to capitalize on the opportunity to meet with Garner to talk about how she bridges the gap between tattooing and fine arts.

“In contemporary society, we’re starting to figure out how to merge the two and that's something I’ve been thinking about in my practice,” he said. “How can I like fully embrace tattooing, my appreciation for tattoos, the culture, me liking to tattoo people? So yeah, I needed to talk to her, it was a necessity.”

When Garner entered the Broad Street Studio she immediately noticed the scale and size of Jones’ work.

“I see the height, and that thing about power dynamics and things that are unreachable and undestroyable and big and large and tall things,” Garner said. “I feel that's really successful and comes across.”

She also encouraged Jones to add a flag to the studio space.

“I associate flags with a declaration and taking over space so I think that's the only reason why,” Garner said. “I feel like this makes me feel like an exhibition for giants and I’m kind of in a space that’s not really made for me. It's made for someone bigger than me.”

While Jones appreciates all the feedback he gets during his time in the Broad Street Studio, he’s taking Garner’s words to heart.

“She puts a lot of different shit together and makes it work and makes it look gorgeous and makes it look terrifying. I really admire that about her work.”