Stephanie Anne Johnson
| Stephanie Anne Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1952 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Emerson College |
| Known for | Installation, Performance |
| Awards | National Endowment for the Arts 1982 |
Stephanie Anne Johnson (born 1952) is an African American mixed media artist. Johnson is notable for her open air performance pieces.[1]
Early life and Education
Stephanie Anne Johnson was born in Harrisburg Pennsylvania in 1952.[2] Johnson's mother, Virginia E. Johnson, was a teacher and social worker[3] who also worked with the American Negro Theater in Harlem. Her father was a child psychologist in the Bronx.[4]
Johnson attended Emerson College, completing her B.F.A in theatre in 1974. At Emerson she took a class in lighting design. After college, her first jobs were doing lighting design.[3] This lead to a forty year career as a Theatrical Lighting Designer and eventually inspired her work in the visual arts. In the early 90s she decided to pursue higher education in the Fine Arts and in 1994 she received her M.F.A. from San Francisco State University.[1]
As of 2016, Johnson is a Professor of Visual and Public Art Department at California State University, Monterey Bay.[5][6]
Work
Johnson's principally built her art reputation around public performance art.[1] Her art frequently focuses on themes about historical and cultural dynamics, including slavery, discrimination of minorities, immigration, gender discrimination and Native American issues.[1]
Johnson's sculptural installations often employ light to create metaphor and evoke emotion, putting the skills she acquired as a professional lighting designer to use in her practice as an art maker.[7]
Awards, Fellowships and Residencies
In 1982 Johnson was National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient.[8] In 1995 she completed an eleven month studio residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts.[9]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Robinson, Jontyle Theresa (1997). "Johnson, Stephanie A.". In Riggs, Thomas. St. James Guide to Black Artists. St. James Press: St. James Press. pp. 278–279. ISBN 1558622209.
- ↑ Beverly Naidus (1 April 2009). Arts for Change: Teaching Outside the Frame. New Village Press. pp. 136–137. ISBN 978-1-61332-005-1.
- 1 2 Grady, Pam (24 August 2006). "Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Artist Stephanie Anne Johnson thinks so, and she hopes her work can guide us.". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ↑ "Stephanie Anne Johnson “Every 21 Days: Cancer, Yoga and Me”". Los Angeles Women's Theater Festival. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ↑ "Faculty Directory: Staphanie Johnson". California State University, Monterey Bay. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ↑ "Johnson, Stephanie Anne | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed". www.blackpast.org. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
- ↑ Cohn, Terri (October 1998). "Light as medium". Artweek. Vol. 29 (Issue 10): 13–14.
- ↑ "National Endowment for the Arts: Annual Report 1982" (PDF). USA.gov. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ↑ "Headlands: Artists: Stephanie Johnson". Headlands Center for the Arts. Retrieved 16 March 2016.