GARRETT JOHNSON

SENIOR, BFA STUDIO ART, DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY, COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Art

1p.m. March 2nd

scan of collage, printed on photo rag paper 18” x 26”

2018

These photo paintings attempt to imply illusionary trickery on the viewer to suggest society’s perception of my subjects and friends, all of whom are members of the LGBTQ community. I consider my approach to analog photography to fit into the genre of intimate photography (an established practice by Ryan McGinley and Nan Goldin). Vulnerability and intimacy are apparent in this series, acting as a celebration of youth and an exploration of sexuality. This series attempts to associated times and memory through physical manipulation of photographs exploring identity and the body. This is done through a combination of drawing, painting, collage, and various other forms of physical and digital manipulation. David Hockney, Pablo Picasso, and Cubism have all contributed to my representation of time through collage. The viewer is meant to question what is reality versus constructed reality.

The illusion of depth, space, texture, and even medium is deceived by scanning small scale manipulated photographs, enlarging each artifact, and printing onto a flat surface. The process includes expressive mark making and brushwork, multiple techniques associated with craft arts and scrapbooking, and weaving multiple photographs together. A collection of non- archival work resulted from this process, and these photo paintings are documentations of their smaller counterparts. The documentation is then printed onto exhibition quality photo rag paper for its similarity of watercolor paper. Printing collage or craft, typically considered low art, onto this high art context ironically criticizes stipulations within the art world.

Art

Decending Nude

scan of collage, printed on photo rag paper 18” x 18”

2018

Blue Bandanna

Pigment Print

22” x 16”

2018

Armpits

Pigment Print

34”x 26”

2018

Crotches 

Pigment Print

22” x 26”

2018

Nip Slip

Pigment Print

22” x 16”

2018

Last Updated: July 24, 2018