Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

This Q&A series focuses on artists contributing to the #ArtisticVisionPgh project cosponsored by Most Wanted Fine Art and Penn Avenue Eyewear. Today’s profile focuses on Richard Jackley

Name: Richard Jackley

Did you grow up with any siblings, friends or schoolmates who wore glasses? Was it a big deal with other kids? My sister and father wear glasses. It was always a fun game to steal my sisters glasses. Wearing them made you feel as if you were in a fun house the way it warped the walls. Needless to say she has bad eyesight.

Describe your favorite pair of sunglasses (ever.) I love aviators. They are such an iconic look. The bigger the better.

How often do you wear sunglasses and why? All the time, all year round, as long as the sun is up. Contrary to Corey Hart I do not wear my sunglasses at night. They have also been known to be used as safety glasses while woodworking or landscaping.

Sunglasses are iconic cool in pop culture. What character from television, movies, comics, etc wore sunglasses in a way that stayed with you? Micheal Westen from Burn Notice. He wears Oliver Peoples Victory frames with Cognac lenses. Michael claimed he got the sunglasses from an Algerian special ops soldier he tangled with who “didn’t need them anymore.”

Describe your relationship with your current pair of sunglasses.  My current pair i received from Penn Avenue Eyewear during the last event with Most Wanted Fine Art. They have been on my face ever since. I use them for all the time and the wear on them is starting to show. Yet i still stand by them as my favorite pair.

There’s a pervasive stigma about wearing glasses for young and old, but an equally pervasive idea that glasses indicate intelligence (or hipness.) Explain that duality. The idea that wearing glasses indicates intelligence is based on the assumption that their eyesight has become poor due to a massive amount of reading. The opposite could be said for older people. They may appear weak because their poor eyesight is caused by aging. As far as glasses being hip, I am not the person to ask about fashion.

Has participating in this project changed the way you think about vision health? I have never really thought of vision health having no need for glasses. Although gaining knowledge about your health can never be a bad thing.

Tell me about your work for this exhibit. I Designed the flier for the show. It is a multi media piece incorporating my own photography of the Pittsburgh skyline and stylish Penn Avenue Eyewear wooden frames.

How can readers learn more about your work? Facebook Richie Jackley or through Most Wanted Fine Art

Thanks, Richard