Johnathan James Recor

Johnathan James Recor (born April 12, 1985), is an American performing artist, martial artist and peace activist and is known for his theatrical performances as "The Sun God" at Dartmouth College..
Early life
Recor was born in Norwalk, Connecticut and is the youngest of two children. He was raised in nearby Westport, Connecticut by his parents, Chris and Nicole. Recor was occupied with martial arts, toy-making, and artistic design throughout much of his early life. In 2004 he graduated from Staples High School and University of Maine in Orono where he was President of “The Maine Peace Action Committee” (MPAC). Recor obtained a masters degree in creative writing during the summer of 2011 at Dartmouth College and gained recognition for his Theater-On-The-Walk routine.
The Sun God
Recor takes on the alter-ego identity of The Sun God to serve as the figurehead of the nonprofit organization Theater-On-The-Walk. As The Sun God Recor wears dark, tight-fitting clothing, red satin opera gloves, arm-patches featuring the image of a crowned heart, black martial arts shoes, a cloak and a star-shaped Venetian mask that double-crowns his forehead and face like a King of Kings. In his performance Recor depicts himself as an Angel of Death, using a human skull to replace his face and overlooks an army of toy soldiers he positions in varying combative stances.
Recor organized a “Love March” at Dartmouth College on April 12, 2010. Recor, with twelve other students wearing Superman capes marched throughout Hanover. The students carried ten-foot roman-themed war flags with “Love” written in English, French, German, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, Korean and Japanese. The march ended inside the Hopkins Center of the Arts.
Recor has also been featured as The Sun God in comics within The Dartmouth newspaper and is known as Dartmouth’s “Resident Deity”.
Artistic career
After six years of training in a martial arts program under Calasanz Martinez, a martial arts master who spent a lifetime studying and teaching Karate, Kung Fu, and Kickboxing, Recor received a Black Belt from the Calasanz Physical Arts Dojo in Norwalk, CT. Recor studied a variety of art forms including Aerobic self-defense, Wing Chun Kung-Fu, American and Chinese Boxing, Okinawa Goju, Ryu Karate, Tai Chi Wing Chun and Wing Chun Ground Fighting. He also acted in a national TV commercial demonstrating his craft.
While studying at the University of Maine Recor suffered from severe depression. He created life-sized murals in his dormitory. His memoir explains that his roommate, “watched in absolute wonder as Recor sat on the bed for hours at a time, completely mesmerized while cutting out thousands of curious images and words that integrated a variety of religious symbols, intriguing philosophical terminologies, and a plethora of complex geometric shapes (e.g. arrows, circles, geometric patterns, etc) - all of which were meticulously organized, sequenced, taped together, and pasted upon a background collage composed of various environmental landscapes.”
On May 13, 2011 Recor’s art was featured at the AVA Gallery and Art Center in Lebanon, NH. The exhibit showcased the collection of his photographs as The Sun God. A presentation of the event aired on local television.

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