Grant Johnson
A fascination with land form dominates my work, specifically the evolution of form resulting from the interaction of natural and human forces with the landscape. My galleries of work Domesticated, Developed, Endangered and Exploited Landscapes all deal with our re-terraforming of the planet as do The Human Imprint and Undisclosed Locations. Political and economic events during the first part of this century signaled a “new normal” in our way of life with an emphasis on ubiquitous and disposable technology and the energy production to power it. This caused a distressing increase in extractive industry mining, drilling and logging and inspired my Welcome to the Future series.
For twenty years I was an assignment photographer/videographer for The Nature Conservancy covering California and areas of Hawaii. Over the years I have made repeat visits to many locations and have observed and photographed changes brought about by increased human activity and climate change.
As an artist, these alterations of my subject matter have dominated my attention. Many of the environmental problems we have created are solvable, but solutions are not happening fast enough. Change is critical if we want to survive in a world of living nature as opposed to a synthetic, algorithmically-mediated bubble. As a species we are at a crossroad where our failure to evolve an environmental consciousness will result in our decline and perhaps, eventual extinction along with all the life-supporting systems provided by our home planet.
I currently use reconnaissance image processing technology to interpret my terrestrial and high altitude aerial photographs as large prints. In New Landscape Work I utilize satellite image composites, to show the “big picture” effect of our competitive consumption. The wholesale loss of forest, now accelerating at a terrifying pace, prompted my Old Growth work and my Healing Environments show and in 2017 which showcases the ability of forests to recover after catastrophic abuse, and highlights the folly of historic forest management practices.
My work also pays homage to the millions of years of evolved perfection found only in nature and includes series such as Landform, Nympheas, and Water, which I began early in my career and continue to expand.
Trained as a painter and photographer before becoming involved with new media, I received the first graduate degree in experimental video awarded by the Rhode Island School of Design in 1975.
For more info: Turning a Blind Eye to Catastrophic Truths