no knock room: tsehai johnson


	Here's an amazing interview with the Denver based artist, Tsehai Johnson, whose work is mostly characterized by her installations with porcelain decoration and objects of everyday life. NKR. Tsehai Johnson, how would you describe yourself? TJ. I am an artist, professor, mother, homemaker, and wife among many things. I enjoy the rather internal and often solitary life of an active artist. I like to cook and spend time with my kids. NKR. Who or what were the biggest influences on your childhood? TJ. I was born in Ethiopia and spent much of my first ten years living in Istanbul, Turkey. After that I had a fairly ordinary childhood in Oregon. These experiences lead to a sense that I could view American culture from a distance- that I was on the outside looking in. This still permeates my artwork to this day. NKR. When did you realize what you wanted to do is art? TJ. I started in high school but frankly did not see it as a career option. I initially studied art history in college. It was not until I completed that degree and took up art making again that I realized it was so much more gratifying. I quickly realized that on some basic level I did not have an option- I was most happy being an artist. NKR. When did you start working with ceramics? Tell us a bit about this passion for porcelain and home day objects. TJ. I started working in clay over 20 years ago. I enjoy the malleability, immediacy and the time component of working with clay. It is the primordial muck of the earth and also a valuable material in its most refined state. In a domestic setting one finds it both in the form of utilitarian bathroom fixtures and in the form of fine china. Thus as a material it mirrors my interest in objects of visual pleasure that are intertwined with an exploration of the mundane realities of everyday life. NKR. "Implements on Hooks. They're meant to be sex toys but sex toys that are talking about a lot of issues." - Tsehai Johnson. Tell us a bit about this artwork and the whole polemic with Colorado's Governor, Bill Owens. >>>	TJ. I am interested in objects as cultural and social documents transmitting information about the most intimate details of human life. “Implements on Hooks” was inspired by sex toys but also referenced the propriety of ornate fine china. I was exploring the boundaries between domestic objects we are proud of and those that we hide away. As far as Governor Owens is concerned he critiqued this work as being inappropriate but, as far as I know, he never saw it. NKR. Have you ever suffered any kind of discrimination for being a woman artist? What do you think about the Guerrilla Girls' project? TJ. That is hard to say. Given the nature of my work, I think there are times when it is too challenging for certain venues or audiences. That said I have been invited to exhibit in some exciting national exhibits expressly due to the nature of my work such as “Regarding Gloria” at White Columns in New York in 2002. Things have changed since the Guerilla Girls began their work. I think they have had some great success and opened doors that had been previously closed to women artists. NKR. How do you handle the business side of being an artist? TJ. It is hard when I want to be in the studio to be in the office working on the computer, however it is absolutely necessary and sometimes consumes a great deal of time. NKR. Contemporary living artists. Name a few artists whose work inspired you. TJ. Mona Hatoum, Pipilotti Rist, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Betty Woodman, Kara Walker. It is a constantly shifting list but these are a few who stay toward the top. NKR. Tell us a bit about the current art scene you're living Denver, Colorado (USA). TJ. Generally Colorado does not pride itself on support of the arts however there are exciting changes on the horizon with new museums to open in the next few years. NKR. Plans for the future? Is there anything you would like to share with us? TJ. I’m in an upcoming exhibit at the Museum of Outdoor Arts. I’m busy making new work for that. NKR. "Being talented is not enough. u got to have the right people around you." In your opinion, what are the chances for a young artist to survive in the art world of today? >>>	TJ. I think it comes from determination, talent and unflinching belief in oneself. There are so many ways to be creative and engaged in this world that there are plenty of options and ways of living one’s life creatively and successfully. Your work straddles a line between object and installation. Talk about that. While I have always been concerned with how my work interacts with the space it is exhibited in and I still think of myself as an object maker, I have recently been interested in altering the gallery or museum space to a greater degree. I think of exhibition spaces as most often either being rather grand and very public and/or as a stark white cube, covering the wall with ornamentation allows me to shift the focus and possibly feminize the space.