Ann Johnson: Harvest
Ann Johnson doesn’t half-ass anything. When she found art calling her away from fashion, she transferred to Prairie View A&M to pursue that passion. She’s been teaching there now for 20 years. When she noticed her students buried inside of phones and computers instead of immersed in their community, Ann didn’t complain. She created the exhibit “Converse: Real Talk” which encouraged meaningful personal interactions away from soul-sucking screens.
So when the store-bought cotton she found for her new exhibit “Harvest” just didn’t feel real enough, Ann “Sole Sister” Johnson bought organic cotton. From a plantation.
“It was a trip. It was emotional for the first box. The cotton slides right off the leaf. You can feel the seeds. No receipt, just a box of cotton. This wasn’t Hobby Lobby cotton.”
Images of Ann Johnson’s ancestors and black American slaves bring weight to the cotton on which she prints.
Over the next six weeks, Ann would take that plantation-bought cotton and creatively transform it into historically potent and stirring works of art. Her printed images of black American faces through time bring life to the fibers, dragging us into America’s not-so-distant past, demanding our attention and memory, and celebrating black struggle and triumph in jarring fashion. Showing now with fellow activist/artist Kaneem Smith at the Houston Museum for African American Culture, Ann Johnson’s “Harvest.” We spoke with her Friday before the exhibit’s opening night.
CC: How did you get started making art?
AJ: My mom is a jack of all trades artistically. My dad was in the Air Force. I was born in London and grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I knew my whole life I wanted to be in fashion. I wanted to work for Ebony Fashion so after high school I enrolled in 2yr school, Bauder. I realized I loved art more than fashion, and transferred to Prairie View A&M. I’ve been teaching there for 20 years.
CC: How does art influence your teaching, and teaching influence your art?
AJ: I always say my purpose is nurturing creative minds. It’s great to nurture creators and help guide their passion, but it’s also amazing to find non-majors who find their creative side or a passion for art history through my classes.
These days my students are different. Everybody’s on their phone. I think, as a result, a lot of students lack conversational skills. Sure, they can interact with you through screens, but they’re entirely different in person. That inspired me to create my conversation and nesting project.
Two guests participate in Ann Johnson’s “Converse: Real Talk”
CC: How did you get into screen printing?
AJ: This project is actually Intaglio. It’s an italian form of printmaking that involves etching. I was always terrified of printmaking because you have to use acid and (pauses) I don’t like to use acid. Everything they do is green these days so there are different options. I used a photo polymer and started working with family photos. The first transfer I made onto a corn husk was a picture of my grandmother who was a Black Indian. After that I transfered onto a feather.
This summer I started transferring onto cotton, so this work is only about 6 weeks old.
CC: Which pieces hold the most meaning to you?
AJ: Most of the images are of my family members and people I know, but one image is of a young slave girl holding a white baby. The original caption reads “Cora holding her owner.” She’s staring right at you as if to say, “We’re still doing this? After everything I went through?”
Another two pieces highlight the history of gynecology. If you know anything about gynecology, it was brutal in slave times and I try to bring attention back to that. Doctors would brag about the screaming and pain they could induce from slave women.
Ann’s work detailing the gruesome history of gynecology in American slavery.
CC: Talk to me about the way you choose to present this work.
AJ: I always strive to show work in its most authentic form. I’ve passed these cotton plantations all the time and thought about picking what I needed, but can you imagine the headline? ‘African American Studies professor arrested trespassing in cotton fields, picking cotton.’ (laughs) I didn’t think that was the way to go.
I initially purchased cotton from Hobby Lobby, but it was just balls of cotton. Nothing organic or raw about it. So I ordered cotton from a plantation. It was a trip. It was emotional for the first box. The cotton slides right off the leaf. You can feel the seeds. No receipt, just a box of cotton. This wasn’t Hobby Lobby cotton. The prints are much more visceral.
I created the pieces to be reminiscent of auction blocks. Our art program [at Prairie View A&M] resides in the Architecture Building. I saw these stands sitting idly in one part of the building and instantly saw their purpose in my project. Each block contains a word or caption meant to convey further meaning in the face above.
Presenting this exhibit with Kaneem is a gift. We’ve been wanting to show together for years. She weaves and her works are culturally and environmentally conscious.
You can find “Harvest” at the Houston Museum of African American Culture, showing now until October 19. Don’t miss this important artistic presentation of American history. (Find both artists’ statements below.)
