Jason Flack is an artist whose passion for art is only matched by his love for his hometown in Johnson City and his family. For the self-taught artist, art has always played an integral role in his life.
“Growing up as a mixed race child in Johnson City, I always felt like the oddball, and the one thing that made me feel like I wasn’t too black for the white kids growing up, or too white for the black kids, was art,” said Flack.
Flack continues by recalling that he would draw on anything he could get his hands on as a child.
Flacktion Art, the name he has coined for himself and his collection of artwork, has been formally creating pieces for the past seven years since the death of his sister.
“Art was kind of my way of coping with the situation, and even still today I do it to honor her,” Flack said.
The artist also draws inspiration from other iconic artists, such as Keith Haring, mimicking various elements of his stylistic approach, such as the use of bold, bright colors and bubble letters.
With every dream comes obstacles, and Flack discovered that his choice of becoming an artist fell outside the realm of normal expectations in Johnson City. He vividly recalled a meeting with various town officials about four years ago regarding the Johnson City art committee.
“They were talking about hiring artists from out of town, and I remember right then and there it was like your boyfriend or girlfriend saying, ‘It’s not you it’s me,'” Flack said.
Flack says that trying to establish himself as an artist in the city has presented as one of his biggest challenges in his endeavor.
“My city was not even opening the chance for local artists to even sprout,” he said. “These challenges have only motivated him to make an imprint in the art community of Johnson City in an effort to try and better pave the way for younger artists.
“We are worth it!” Flack said, leaving an inspiring message for the Johnson City community and encouraging them to take a leap.
“There is no loss in promoting local artists. I, like most other artists, pour myself onto the canvas with each piece and when people come to our town, they want to know how our people act and how our people survive – what better way to show that than through art?”
To see more of Jason Flack’s art, you can follow him on Instagram @flacktion_art and his Facebook page, Flacktion Art. Flacktion Art will also be the featured artist at the Local Company Store in downtown Johnson City for the month of December. He can also be contacted via email at jflack6@gmail.com.
