Johnathan Recor Revealed

Published October 9, 2009.

It’s 10 o’clock at night, and you’re beginning to wonder why you thought it’d be such a great idea to walk to FoCo alone. You pull your sweatshirt higher around your neck in a futile attempt to block the cold wind and glance around the deserted campus. You know Hanover is possibly the safest town in America, but you can’t help but a feel a little creeped out by the lack of human life. To top it all off, you’re sure you’ve been hearing the eerie beat of techno music playing somewhere in the night…

Suddenly, a flash of red in the distance. You stop dead in your tracks, staring intently at the Green, positive that you must have been hallucinating. But after a moment’s scrutiny you realize that your eyes are not deceiving you—you really are seeing a luminescent red light saber twirling violently through the air. You pick up your speed, eager to know who could possibly be performing at this hour. You’re finally close enough to see the source of this glowing dance when you stop dead in your tracks again.

The man before you looks as if he were torn from the pages of a comic book. He wears a traditional superhero getup: tight pants, a close-fitting shirt, gloves, and a marvelous gold and black cape. But his mask is unlike anything you have ever seen before. Golden spikes radiate out from an inscrutable white face; jewels and pearls dangle from the chin and the points of each barb. He is, without a doubt, the most random thing you have encountered at Dartmouth thus far.

No matter how your initial experience with Johnathan Recor occurs, it is undeniably a memorable event. We had our most remarkable Recor experience one night when walking back to our dorm. He was walking towards the Green with Matrix Man—who has now been identified as ’13 Dylan Calhoun—when we stopped to ask about the man behind the mask.

He informed us that he wasn’t actually called Light Saber Man (he prefers to go by Johnathan), and that he was a first year graduate student studying creative writing. Giddy with excitement, we gushed, “So what’s your inspiration for doing this?” Without missing a beat, he simply replied, “Love.”

The purpose behind Johnathan’s active theatrical performance is to physically convey his “life experiences as a developing human being in search of love.” For Johnathan, art as a piece hanging from a wall is simply not enough to convey his emotions. His goal is to create a timeline of sorts, one that describes the deep emotions he has felt at various times during his life, and to display, record, and embrace them in an open kind of journal, one that we each can look upon and empathize with. He also wants others to recognize the “importance of acknowledging the love that every individual carries deep within themselves; the love that every living creature possesses from within, and from this, being able to share this compassion among all you come across to help improve the conditions of our society, world, and humanity.”

Since our initial nighttime rendezvous, we have met Johnathan several times both in and out of costume. The disparity between the man in the mask and the real Johnathan is almost startling: the intense energy and violence that he radiates whilst dancing with his light saber are nowhere to be found in the quiet man who ordered Smiley Fries at our EBAs lunch.

Without the mask to hide his facial expressions, he is a remarkably genuine and open person. His willingness to show his true self is refreshing in a world where people so often hide their deepest nature in order to gain the favor of their peers.

On Facebook, Johnathan comments on how difficult it is to “unlock and express the vulnerabilities of [his] heart and soul for all to see, hear, and judge.” As cliché as it may seem, he wears his heart on his sleeve whether he is in costume or not, and he remains an open individual despite the criticism he has received over time.

Although he was initially discouraged because his performances were often misinterpreted—one girl reported hearing that the “Sun God” would try to abduct you if you got too close—Johnathan is now “more confident than ever that the quest in pursuing [his] dreams, despite any and all adversity, is the true path to [his] enlightenment as a student, artist, and human being.” Johnathan is calm and cordial in response to detractors as he thinks that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. This simple characteristic is what makes him so strong as an individual. This project is something he believes in; it’s his passion and his art.

Johnathan’s theatrical endeavors have evolved from a fusion of interests he’s developed over the years. His father introduced him to mixed martial arts at the age of fourteen after noting how disciplined Johnathan was as a child.

Despite ten years of experience—and a third degree black belt—he has only just begun to integrate martial arts into his everyday life. In high school, he dissembled toys, and mixed their various pieces into his own creations (think Sid from Toy Story). After producing an amalgamation of different pieces of toys, Johnathan would feel satisfied and content with his creation. He says it was almost as if the toys he made helped him “becom[e] what [he] was making,” growing bigger and better. His love for martial arts and model making has transcended into a deeper cause. His desire to integrate his passion for mixed martial arts, dramatic theatre, and creation have led him to his current mode of artistic physical expression.

Johnathan‘s performance is also about appreciating the joy and levity of everyday life. He tries to impress this light-heartedness on others by interacting with them through dance and various performances. He is starting up a new daytime project to complement his typical nighttime light-saber shows. He plans to gather a group of about 10 members who will perform across campus in a mixed martial arts fashion, interacting respectfully and playfully with stressed out students. He wants people to loosen up and have fun amid the rigors of both undergraduate and graduate school course loads.

While others may refer to him as the “Sun God,” “Light-Saber-Man,” “Big Love,” or even “Sparkle-Face,” he will be the first to politely introduce himself to you as Johnathan, because the character he is portraying is simply himself.

His Theatre-on-the-Walk Program is a physical representation of his innermost feelings, an embodiment of something you can see and become a part of. His art is something that is alive and real, and that is what makes it so unique. We should all take a lesson from Johnathon and not be so hasty to judge an individual who follows his passions as far as they take him. More people should pursue their desires while maintaining spirits as bright and sparkling as Johnathan Recor’s gold mask.