PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (February 21, 2020) – Ann Johnson, assistant professor of practice in Prairie View A&M University’s School of Architecture, is one of the featured artists in “Re/Devaluing Colorism: Intersections of Skin Color and Currency,” showing through April 5 at The Southwest School of Art in San Antonio.
The exhibition addresses questions of skin color in historic and contemporary social hierarchies. Colorism, as a discriminatory impulse, has a long history and is evident across cultures and countries. And the piece Johnson has on display, “Unwelcome,” is deeply personal.
“When I was approached about this exhibition, I knew immediately that I would reference my family,” she said. “Growing up, I was fascinated by a photo of my great grandmother Emma who was considered a ‘Black Indian’ (of the Creek nation we think). I would later find out that she was often called Indian Emma or White Emma due to her complexion and hair. I’ve been told by family that her first husband was lynched for passing and that she would not walk down the streets of her hometown in Alabama with her darker-skinned sons for fear that they too would be lynched. The most intriguing story, however, was that of my great-aunt, who was married to my great grandmother’s second son, who was extremely fair-skinned like his parents. I’ve been told by family that she was too color struck, and wouldn’t let darker-skinned relatives in her home. For this exhibition, I created a large transparent image of my aunt, trapped between two black mesh screens in a very ornate Southern Victorian door. Smaller images of [Booker T.] Washington, my uncle, great grandmother, and I are also merged into the screen. A doormat placed in front of the door reads ‘Unwelcome.’”
Johnson, who earned a master of fine arts at Academy Art University in San Francisco, works in mixed media (artwork in which more than one material is used), although her primary medium is experimental printmaking. She was asked by the show’s curator, Aissatou Sidime, to provide artwork for display.
“Parts of ‘Unwelcome’ were specifically created for this exhibition,” she said. “‘The Converse Tree’ is part of an ongoing series titled ‘Converse: Real Talk.’ The tree has been shown in numerous exhibitions, but it was fitting for this exhibition.”
The Converse Tree invites exhibit-goers to sit under it, face-to-face, and talk. The topic of discussion is any of a set of trigger words written on the tree’s leaves. The goal of the installation is for people to interact with each other and discuss sometimes difficult topics related to race and society.
Ann Johnson
At PVAMU, Johnson teaches art as well as merchandising and design. She’s had works exhibited throughout the country, including at the Longview Museum of Art and the Hooks Epstein Galleries here in Texas, as well as the Skylight Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, and the Chase Tower Gallery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is part of the upcoming exhibit, “Slowed and Throwed: Records of the City Through Mutated Lenses,” at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston.
“Art is a way to visually present to you different viewpoints and thoughts. Rather it be conceptual or direct, an effective work of art will make you think,” she said.
That’s what she hopes people will do with “Unwelcome,” although she realizes that the issues she brings up in the work don’t have easy answers.
“Colorism is such a strong problem in many cultures,” she said. “I don’t know how to solve the problem. We can talk and talk, but until the thinking and perception of a person change, unfortunately, things will remain the same.”
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By Holly Beretto