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"John DiLumière": Meaning & Origin"John DiLumière" is the artist name of Dr. John Wilcox. The name was chosen and used for two reasons: to differentiate John's artistic work from his academic work (that is authored under his real name), and to pay homage to the French and Italian inspirations of his artistry.
"DiLumière" is the juxtaposition of the Italian and French words "Di" and "Lumière", meaning "of light": as such, it nominally symbolizes the category of John's work that is conveyed entirely through light—the visual medium--in contrast to academic, technological, musical or other innovations, where light and vision are less central. The inspiration for John's art arose from roughly a year living in Paris. There, he was amazed by the city's architectural and artistic accomplishments, including its notable buildings (like Hôtel des Invalides) and its realist art galleries. After departing Paris, he started creating art as a way of (fallibly) emulating French artistic beauty, of assuaging his wistfulness for its aesthetics and of at times communicating meaning different ways (as with the painting below, "Divinely Absurd"). Although self-taught, John's ability and style is clear from the work itself, and he brings his academic training to bear on the meaning and ideas of specific works. |
Oil Paintings
John creates oil paintings on various themes with elements of realism. For example, the paintings above and to the right use realist blending techniques to achieve specific effects, even though some aspects intentionally depart from realism (such as the brighter left eye of the woman above). The rightward painting is called "Divinely Absurd", a visual representation of tensions raised by the so-called "Problem of Evil" in academic philosophy. More specifically, it illustrates the tension between the idea--true or false--that a benevolent God created the world (depicted by the Zeus-like figure), coupled with the fact that the world contains unpleasant suffering or deprivation (depicted by the barren environment of the desolate desert). While the painting is intended to be neither critical, dismissive nor disrespectful of theistic or atheistic viewpoints, it does aim to highlight some of the conceptual tensions within the problem of evil. John paints on other themes too. |
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Graphite and charcoal sketchesJohn also produces drawings using graphite and charcoal media, such as those to the left. The works are typically inexpensive and fast, most often completed within an hour or two. Topics sometimes have emotional sentiments for recipients as well: for example, the top left sketch of Taylor Swift was for John's excited niece, and the top right sketch of Zohran Mamdani was given to an ardent Mamdani supporter. |
Sculptures
John also produces sculptures, primarily through clay media.
Comissions & Enquiries
John is open to commissions for specific works, according to the client's interests and desires. Prices are negotiable, depending on the requirements. John can be contacted through the form below about commissions or other enquiries.