James Johnson: I Come from a Serious Place

Abstract

Excerpt from essay by Cody VanderKaay: James Johnson’s artwork encourages the viewer to construct and examine personalized narratives of identity, impulse, ownership and self-determination. With motives likened to that of a magician, he is continually revealing and concealing his method of operation. In spite of these clever manipulations, the behind-the-scenes accoutrements invert newly formed notions and undo guises.