- "I am not a fatalist, however. For in my time, I have witnessed breathtaking creation emerge from appalling destruction. Art and war are inevitable, yes, but they are also forges that can temper souls unlike any other. The worst of us is required to draw out the best of us."
- ―Janyor
Janyor, also referred to as Janyor of Bith, was a renowned male Bith painter, poet, and sculptor from Garel who lived during the final years of the Galactic Republic, the reign of the Galactic Empire, and the rise and fall of the New Republic.
Biography[]
- "As an artist, I have worked in many forms and media in my fourteen decades of life, and have also witnessed more than my fill of war."
- ―Janyor
Defender of the Republic[]
- "I have been a propagandist, a young defender of the Republic, blind to its faults and gripped by a jingoist's fervor to support the soldiers of the Clone Wars."
- ―Janyor
Born at least 14 decades before the Hosnian Cataclysm, Janyor was a renowned Bith painter, poet, and sculptor from the planet Garel. When he was young, he worked as a propagandist supporting the Galactic Republic, fervently supporting its soldiers during the Clone Wars, having believed in the rhetoric of Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine and the evils of Count Dooku and the selfish damage inflicted by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Following the rise of the Galactic Empire, Janyor initially believed in Emperor Palpatine's promise of a thousand years of peace and thought that the Empire was just what civilization needed: a strong guiding hand to keep it on a path to a bright future. Although he had created propaganda supporting it, Janyor eventually became disillusioned with the so-called New Order and began creating protest art pieces,[1] including protest paintings on Bith,[2] where he served as poet laureate, after which the Empire forced the[1] notorious[3] rebel[4] artist into exile.[1] When the Empire destroyed a statue sculpted by Janyor on Garel, a small dissident group staged an impromptu protest that was quickly quelled by local authorities. According to HoloNet News anchor Alton Kastle, who regarded the statue as "controversial" and an "eyesore," the official reason for the statue's destruction was that it fell under scrutiny by the Coalition for Progress division of COMPNOR after it had fallen into disrepair and became an issue of public safety.[3]
Propaganda Bureau Chief[]
- "The Rebel Alliance was perennially underequipped to battle the Empire. Its meager resources could in no way compare to the vast might of the Imperial war machine. But to the Rebellion, a well-crafted message of hope and defiance could mean more than ten thousand blaster rifles, a thousand starfighters, or a hundred capital ships. The Galactic Civil War was not a battle for territory. It was a struggle for the hearts and minds of the galaxy. The war artist was the Rebel Alliance's superweapon."
- ―Janyor
During his exile, Janyor came to create propaganda supporting the burgeoning Alliance to Restore the Republic, whose meager resources were no match for those of the Galactic Empire. Instead, they relied upon well-crafted messages of hope and defiance to win over the galaxy's hearts and minds. In the rickety Alliance government that arose in the wake of the Galactic Civil War, he ascended to the rank of Propaganda Bureau Chief, working with a small team of ostracized illustrators, beleaguered journalists, and other such individuals to craft messages meant to explain to the citizenry of the galaxy the "true" state of the Empire. Although they were meant to counter lies being circulated by Imperial propaganda, the group was ultimately forced to create lies of its own to tip back the scales and hope that somewhere in the balance a truth could be found.[1]
Legacy[]
- "Reminds me of Janyor's protest paintings on Bith."
"Janyor of Bith is a major influence." - ―Lando Calrissian and Sabine Wren discuss Janyor's influence on the latter's art
Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian artist who fought in the early rebellion against the Empire, credited Janyor as a major influence for her artwork[2] and desired to recreate one of his canvases as a moss painting.[5] Janyor himself came to support the movement and began creating propaganda supporting rebellion against the Empire.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
Janyor was first mentioned in "HoloNet News Special Report: Controversial Statue Finally Destroyed," the fourth in a series of Holonetnews.com-exclusive Star Wars Rebels tie-in videos, which was first posted on September 5, 2014.[3]
Appearances[]
HoloNet News Special Report: Controversial Statue Finally Destroyed (article) (content now obsolete; backup link) (First mentioned)- Star Wars Rebels — "Idiot's Array" (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- Sabine My Rebel Sketchbook
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy (First pictured)
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2
Star Wars Rebels — "Idiot's Array"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2
HoloNet News Special Report: Controversial Statue Finally Destroyed (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- ↑ Sabine My Rebel Sketchbook