ARTIST SPOTLIGHT
Rapid Transit (in progress) Midtown Columbus
CHRIS JOHNSON - LIFTING COMMUNITIES, ONE MURAL AT A TIME By Natalie Downey
ome quiet roads lead to towns with stories begging to be S told. Artist Chris Johnson has found a way to bring some of those stories to life in colors and brushstrokes on brick
walls and silos and five-story buildings. As he makes his way through rural towns and cityscapes across the southeast, a revival of community pride can be heard echoing from his paint cans, reminding us that sometimes a little paint can make a big difference. When Chris Johnson graduated from USC with his MFA in 2011, he wanted to follow his passion. In 2013 he became an art professor at Andrew College, a small school in Cuthbert, GA. The rural community of Cuthbert was
in need of some revitalization, and approached Chris with an idea. Though it wasn’t the route he had expected to take with his artwork (he specialized in printmaking and wood carving), he found himself at the center of a project aimed at giving the town of Cuthbert a new sense of pride, and the method of delivery would be through artwork, or, more specifically, murals. “It was my first time working with the community to help them develop a representation of what they consider to be their heritage,” said Chris. In 2017, Chris’s first mural in Cuthbert was complete, and from there, he recalls, “the
Trinity, NC
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community of Columbus - the five-story tall mural known as “Lady Columbus.” The mural depicts the iconic sculpture from Wynnton Road of Lenora Sarling, leader of the women’s suffrage movement in the 1900’s. Before Chris began the mural on one of the sides of Heritage Tower, he said it “Looked like a prison.” Gray and drab, the building was in need of a touch of color, and Chris gave it that and more, finishing the mural in only 10 days. “It’s more than a painting,” he said. The mural quickly became a familiar Roberta, Ga part of the landscape of Columbus, turning a hardly-noticed mural thing snowballed.” building into a place people go out of their way to pass. “Murals are a big way to make a big change in a In 2020 Chris received an award from The LocaL Choice community,” Chris soon realized. As more projects from Awards for Lady Columbus, as Columbus’ favorite art piece. And, if people wonder who Lady Columbus is, and why more towns rolled in, he found himself playing a part in telling the history of these towns, as he got to know the her story matters, and perhaps take the time to learn a little intricacies that made them unique, the images they would more about her, then the painting is giving the community want displayed on a mural representing the town, the stories even more than just something beautiful to look at. A mural often tells a story in order to they took pride in. “The point keep it from being forgotten. is to uplift and revitalize a It draws us in and makes us community,” Chris said. He ask questions, feel movement, found that when a place hasn’t or desire to know more. been touched in years, some Chris’s artwork can be artwork highlighting the pride found in other places around of the city can go a long way. the city. His series of three In murals, Chris found river life themed murals called his niche - making a positive “Rapid Transit” brightens up change in places that were Midtown, and “Where the looking for a way to generate Wild Things Are,” depicting interest and foster a sense characters from the beloved of pride in the community. children’s book, can be seen “It’s cool to interact with in the children’s wing of the communities like that,” he Columbus Library. said, adding, “The power of art Stylistically, Chris says he is that it can change the way loves patterns, rhythm, and they look at their town.” color contrast. One of his Suddenly, towns were many talents is being able to becoming brighter, more collaborate, a much-needed colorful, holding their heads up high, remembering their skill for a mural artist. “One unique contributions to the thing I do well is collaborate world. Chris found that his with communities to figure out murals were not just a way what style they want and get a to follow his own passion for sense of what they’re looking art, but a way to work with for,” he said. Lady Columbus, photo by John Pyle purpose, and inspire others to The impact of Chris and follow their own passions too. his work has not gone without It didn’t take long for Chris to earn a reputation for his recognition. In 2019, Chris received the much-deserved murals. The city of Shellman contacted him to paint a series Governor’s Award for Arts and Humanities for “Revitalization of six grain silos, a first for Chris, but a project he was happy through Art” from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp. to be a part of. In addition, Flint Energy awarded Chris three grants “By 2018 I really started hitting my stride and getting in the span of just one day for mural revitalization associated with murals,” Chris said. As he picked up more projects, which he has begun and will continue working projects, the touch of his paintbrush continued to change on this year. To receive just one grant is quite a feat; to Where the Wild Things Are - photo by Katie Burnett communities. Not only do these towns find a greater sense of pride through murals honoring their stories, but murals also bring more interest to the area from visitors. The visual interpretation of the town’s history offers something new to be learned. A mural is a lasting record of a town, but often more accessible than a written history. One doesn’t need to know how to read or speak English to be moved by the scenes in a mural. People identify with the element of humanity that is found in murals, in seeing local lives displayed in carefully captured moments of nostalgia. In 2019 Chris began a daunting project in our own 6
SEPT EMBER -OCT OBER 2021
