"Unseen Lines" text detail (c) Dianne Bowen
Drawing is like taking a line out for a dance, sometimes it's a heavy metal slam dance, sometimes it's as structured as a waltz, and sometimes it's a virgina reel and I'm just switching hands and partners, pencil, paint, paper, film...

An artist's journey making sense of the world through art, language and conversation.




Tuesday, June 4, 2013

"We Buy Gold", new book by photographer Nikki Johnson

Photographer Nikki Johnson posted a preview of her upcoming book release, "We Buy Gold" on May 24th, 2013 on line. Originally from West Point, Mississippi, Johnson has been living and working in New York City for well over a decade. Johnson's work includes images from various locations around the world. She is a self described "Social Explorer". Johnson works in series to which she has built a vast body of work. Through an unflinching eye, her photographs are a telling narrative of New York City and it's inhabitants.

I met Nikki Johnson many years ago and have had the pleasure of both following her artistic career and developing a personal friendship along the journey. Differing from her previous release, "Natural History", a deluxe 160 page book featuring select images from 1998-2010, Johnson's newest release "We Buy Gold" allows her salacious, dark humor to come to the forefront.

I'm very excited to announce I'll be posting an interview with her next week on my blog in the "Artists In Conversation" section. It was a pleasure to write the foreword for her book "Natural History" released in 2010. We'll discuss art, process, life, as one artist to another trying to make sense of this crazy, wonderful world and thing we call "Art".

Unlike my previous blog, "OPENMOUTH", in which I wrote reviews on shows, "Art The NOISE We Make" merges review with interview to allow the artists to speak about their work and process in their own words. I don't necessarily ask questions in an interview Q & A, simply jump in here and there. The first artist, Photographer Nikki Johnson has an upcoming book release, so I thought the timing was perfect to share my fascination and enjoyment of her work. Simply as one artist to another sharing our common passion and need to make art. 

Studio visits between artists to discuss their work and the topics of the day is a necessary part of what we do which connects us in different ways. Sometimes it simply gets us out of our heads for a minute so we may see in a different perspective and examine ideas. As artists and later, friends, Johnson and I have worked on numerous projects together. I hope to reveal not only an understanding and enjoyment of her work but also the way artists relate to each other.

Hold on to your hat this will be interesting....

"We Buy Gold" by Nikki Johnson (Preview)


New York Times, March, 2010
Nikki Johnson, Press and Clippings
"Natural History", Nikki Johnson
reframingphotography.com, Video Interview with Photographer, Nikki Johnson (videographer Alex Zoppa)







 

2 comments:

  1. Thank you Ravenna. It's taken some time, but the first is now in progress and I look forward to seeing how this evolves.

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