Ben Johnson
Disciplines: Communications, Environmental Education, Fine Art, Ornithology, Photography, Visual ArtsRegions: Arizona Uplands, Borderlands, Sky Islands, Tohono O'odham, Urban Centers
Chapter: Tucson
Website: http://www.benjohnsonart.com
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As a visual artist and curator, my work is focused on offering new windows through which individuals may find greater connections with their environment. I’m interested in creatively bringing the wildness of the world into human, interior spaces, and by doing so, chipping away at the perception that humans are separate beings from the natural world.
I primarily work in paint, photography, video, digital media and mixed media. My work has been exhibited nationally, and is currently represented by galleries in Martha’s Vineyard and Philadelphia. After moving to Tucson from southern New Jersey in 2009, I became interested in how my work could translate the wonders of this region and reveal its nuances. This led to a series of multi media projects that stretched the boundaries of my creative process and paved the way for me to further engage with a sense of place in my work. Additionally, between 2010 and 2014, I curated art exhibitions for Tohono Chul Park, a botanical garden and museum in northwest Tucson. This opened me up to the incredible biodiversity of the Sonoran Desert as well as the cultural and artistic wealth of this region, which has in turn become quite influential in my own studio practice.
I believe that all artwork bears within it a great story of how it came to be, and how it in turn inspires others. I find these stories an integral part of art itself. My contribution in 6&6 is fueled by my devotion to this partnership embedded within every work of art. I’m interested in the stories the Sonoran Desert holds, as well as the story of the collaborative creative process at the heart of the initiative. I look forward to seeing where it takes us, and where we take it.