Don't quit your day job

Don't quit your day job

2015
Artist
Jason Middlebrook, American, 1966-
Born: Jackson, MI
Work Locations: Hudson, NY
Country
United States
Object
painting
Medium
Acrylic paint on Maple slab
Accession Number
2016.148
Credit Line
Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum
Jason Middlebrook (American). Don't quit your day job. 2015. Acrylic paint on Maple slab. Gift from Vicki and Kent Logan to the Collection of the Denver Art Museum. 2016.148.
Dimensions
height: 52 in, 132.0800 cm; width: 32 1/2 in, 82.5500 cm; depth: 1 1/2 in, 3.8100 cm
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Collection
Modern and Contemporary Art

Jason Middlebrook is a contemporary mixed-media artist, whose work explores the complex relationship between nature and man, while also paying homage to the works of fellow contemporary artists. "Don’t quit your day job" depicts Kent Logan with a large body and shrunken head, while his female counterpart, with a similar head, holds the doll, the embodiment of Vicki Logan. "Don’t quit your day job" doubles the image of the Logans, with George Condo’s portrait of the Logans' serving as the background for an updated portrait of the couple. While the distinguishing heads on Condo’s canvas have been cut off by the natural curve of the maple slab that the Middlebrook employs, the clothing identifies them. By painting an older looking Vicki and Kent, seated in front of their younger selves, Middlebrook shows the then and now versions of the couple. 

Jason Middlebrook was born in 1966 in Jackson, Michigan. He received his BFA from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1990 and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in California in 1994. 

Known Provenance
Purchased by Vicki and Kent Logan from the artist, 2015; gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 2016.

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