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In this set of images, Jonathon Roberts imagines cows sharing deep truths about the toil of work, as expressed in Ecclesiastes 3. This exploration is also inspired by a letter-turned-song from his father, a veterinarian for dairy cattle, shared in his artist statement.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-22

Ecclesiastes Cows

Jonathon Roberts

Credits:

Photo Credit: FreePhotoBank.com
Artist location: New York City/Wisconsin

Curated by:

Spark+Echo Arts

2010

Digital images, satire, music

Primary Scripture

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Share This Art:

The way Ecclesiastes talks about meaninglessness and the toil of work has always captivated me. Around the time I was thinking about these concepts, my father, John Roberts, a veterinarian who primarily serves dairy farms, sent me a letter. He is a beautiful writer and often has poignant thoughts about his work and his life in rural northern Wisconsin. The letter turned into a song called "State of the Art Veterinarian."

This got me thinking about cows and the way they stare at us, at farmers and veterinarians as they work. What are they thinking about? Do they have some sort of wisdom or insight into the meaningless and toil of work? Then, to be honest, it just really made me smile and laugh to think of cows speaking verses from Ecclesiastes. So... there you go.

Oh, one more thing. I often imagine an Ecclesiastes cow would make a great t-shirt. Who's with me? Here is the design by Paula Roberts. We're already half way there!

Spark Notes

The Artist's Reflection

Jonathon Roberts is a composer and sound designer for games, film, theatre, and ensembles. His style grew out of classical and jazz training, and evolved through quality life adventures: touring the country in an RV with a one person theater piece on the Apostle Paul, living in Brooklyn with an improv music ensemble, performing in a downtown NYC absurdist comedy band, and a long stint writing music for the renowned slot machine company, High 5 Games. He has released four albums including the latest, Cities a song cycle personifying biblical cities. He created the popular podcast/web series ComposerDad Vs. Bible, in which ComposerDad accepts intense compositional challenges from a mysterious Bible while out with his kids. He frequently collaborates on music and theater projects with his wife, actor Emily Clare Zempel. They live in Beacon, NY, with their two boys and a tangled box of electrical cords. www.jonathonroberts.com