Please join us for an hour long Artist Talk and Q&A session by printmaker Joshua Jay Johnson, Assistant Professor in Printmaking & Foundations at Elmhurst College in Illinois. He will be in Ashland for an artist rescidency at Scavenger Studios. During his time here he will be visiting SOU's Creative Arts Department and meeting with the Intro. to Printmaking class. His work will be available to view in person following the talk.  

BFA - University of Iowa

MFA - Northern Illinois University

Artist Statement: 

I create figurative landscapes of individuals traversing a harsh, post-civilized environment.  These etchings and drawings examine ones relationship within a society increasingly devoid of shared meaning or consequence. Detached figures are left to meander through an anonymous world, performing extreme acts of violence and debauchery.  Attempts at reconciling lost purpose arise in the form of futile contraptions or makeshift rituals involving the physical leftovers of their existence: blood, flesh, bile, and excrement.

The aesthetic of line etching recalls a history most easily attributed to the renaissance.  Contemporary elements find their way into the imagery in the form of object, pattern, or setting. This anachronistic approach creates a feeling of temporal ambiguity, while emphasizing the cyclical nature of human action.

Each piece becomes complicated through an extended drawing process, as over several months ideas and inquiries are explored and abandoned. Pieces of history from various investigations combine to create an assembled narrative and implied folklore. These elements set the stage for the viewer to piece together a narrative of their own, while deciphering what meaning can be gained from an image.