Jonathan Allen
Encyclopedia
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
based in London. His alter-ego "Tommy Angel", is a fictitious evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
and magician satirising the genre of Gospel Magic
Gospel Magic
Gospel magic is the use of otherwise standard stage magic tricks and illusions to promote Christian messages. Gospel Magic does not claim to invoke spirits or paranormal powers....
, who Allen portrays in a variety of media including performance, photography, video, and writing.
Life and work
He received his MA from Chelsea College of Art in 1989 and was a Henry MooreHenry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
Fellow at Sheffield Hallam University from 1991-1993. From 2007-8 Allen was the Arts Council England Helen Chadwick
Helen Chadwick
Helen Chadwick was a British conceptual artist.-Life and work:Chadwick studied at Croydon College of Art, The Faculty of Arts and Architecture Brighton Polytechnic and then at the Chelsea School of Art....
Fellow at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and the British School at Rome
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome was established in 1901 and granted a Royal Charter in 1912 as an educational institute in the fields of archaeology, literature, music, and history of Rome and Italy of every period, and for the study of the fine arts and architecture...
.
Allen's work has appeared in many exhibitions including “Feint” at Deutsche Bank in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, “The Float in the Sight of Things” at Ferens Art Gallery
Ferens Art Gallery
The Ferens Art Gallery is an art gallery in the English city of Kingston upon Hull. The site and money for the gallery were donated to the city by Thomas Ferens, after whom it is named. Opened in 1927,...
in Hull, “Mesmer” at temporarycontemporary in London, “Con Art” at Site Gallery
Site Gallery
The Site Gallery is an art gallery in Sheffield, England. It specialises in multimedia based art.The gallery is based at Brown Street in Sheffield's Cultural Industries Quarter. It is an international centre for contemporary art, and maintains an extensive programme of exhibitions, regularly...
in Sheffield, "Scarecrow" in Metzova Greece, and "Variety" at the De La Warr Pavilion Bexhill on Sea, UK, the first Singapore Biennale
Singapore Biennale
The Singapore Biennale is a contemporary art biennale in Singapore. The first Singapore Biennale operated as one of a lineup of Singapore 2006 events. Fumio Nanjo, Director of Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, has been reappointed Artistic Director of the Singapore Biennale 2008...
, "The Dictionary of War" in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, "Kalanag" at David Risley Gallery London, and 'The Great Transformation - Art & Tactical Magic' at Frankfurter Kunstverein.
In 2002, Allen instigated the international group show "Con Art" with American curator Helen Varola, and Carol Maund which explored art and conjuring’s shared principles of ‘cunning and conning’ through a gallery exhibition (including Mark Wallinger
Mark Wallinger
Mark Wallinger is a British artist, best known for his sculpture for the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, Ecce Homo , and State Britain , a recreation at Tate Britain of Brian Haw's protest display outside parliament. He won the Turner Prize in 2007...
, Simon Patterson, Sarah Charlesworth
Sarah Charlesworth
Sarah Charlesworth is a well-known American conceptual artist and photographer. She was born in East Orange, New Jersey. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College in 1969 and now lives in New York City...
, and others), a symposium (chaired by Susan Hiller
Susan Hiller
Susan Hiller is an American-born artist who lives in London, UK. Her art practice encompasses installation, video, photography, performance and writing.-Early Life and Education:...
), and a live performance event including, amongst others, Forced Entertainment, Ursula Martinez
Ursula Martinez
Ursula Martinez is a London-based Anglo-Spanish British writer, performer, and cult cabaret diva noted for her use of nudity and non-actors....
, and Tommy Angel.
Jonathan Allen writes widely on theatrical magic history and related themes for visual art journals including Contemporary (magazine), Tate Etc, and Cabinet magazine
Cabinet magazine
Cabinet is a quarterly, Brooklyn, NY-based, non-profit art & culture periodical launched in 2000. Cabinet also operates an event and exhibition space in Brooklyn.-Section 1: Columns:...
, for which he guest-edited an issue dedicated to magic in 2007. In 2010, he co-curated the Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
touring exhibition 'Magic Show' with the writer Sally O'Reilly
Sally O'Reilly
Sally O'Reilly is a writer, critic, teacher, editor and events organiser. She was Writer in Residence at the in 2010/11. She has contributed to Art Monthly, Frieze, Cabinet, Modern Painters, and Time Out as well as writing catalogue essays for numerous international art exhibitions...
. His work as Tommy Angel was the subject of a feature article in the Las Vegas-published Magic (magazine)
Magic (magazine)
MAGIC, also known as The Magazine for Magicians, is an independent magazine for magicians that is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. A creation of Stan Allen, magician, it debuted in September 1991, with its first issue featuring Lance Burton on the cover, and over the years it has also featured David...
in February 2006. Allen is a member of The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle is a British organisation, founded in London in 1905, dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.- History :The Magic Circle was founded in 1905 after a meeting of 23 amateur and professional magicians at London's Pinoli's Restaurant...
, the UK organisation for professional magicians.
Tommy Angel
Tommy Angel is the name of a fictional 'gospel magician' who features in Allen's photographic and performance work. Gospel MagicGospel Magic
Gospel magic is the use of otherwise standard stage magic tricks and illusions to promote Christian messages. Gospel Magic does not claim to invoke spirits or paranormal powers....
is a form of evangelical entertainment used by Christian believers, primarily within the USA, to communicate religious stories and ideas through the medium of performance magic. Tommy Angel, who has been described as 'Billy Graham meeting David Copperfield via Donald Rumsfeld', parodies this suggestive magic sub-genre.
Large black-and-white photographic images depicting Tommy Angel, were exhibited at the The De La Warr Pavilion
The De La Warr Pavilion
The De La Warr Pavilion is an International Style building constructed in 1935 and designed by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff; considered by some to be in an Art Deco style. Some claim it to be the first major Modernist public building in Britain, although in fact it was...
, Bexhill on Sea, UK (2005), David Risely Gallery (2006), and Singapore Biennale
Singapore Biennale
The Singapore Biennale is a contemporary art biennale in Singapore. The first Singapore Biennale operated as one of a lineup of Singapore 2006 events. Fumio Nanjo, Director of Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, has been reappointed Artistic Director of the Singapore Biennale 2008...
(2006). Allen has performed the persona of Tommy Angel in a diverse contexts including cabaret venues, church halls, and art galleries, including the Hayward Gallery
Hayward Gallery
The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre, part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames, in central London, England. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings and also the Royal National Theatre and British Film Institute...
on the occasion of Eyes, Lies and Illusions, and in 2006 at Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
, as well as the ZOO Art Fair.
A fake dollar bill bearing the face of Tommy Angel and various parodic evangelistic slogans was introduced into public circulation (via pickpockets using their skills in reverse) during the 1st Singapore Biennale in 2006.