INTERVIEW Vivian R. Johnson

How did you first learn about The Ringling?

I was introduced to the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art by my dear friend of many years, who was born in this area, Mrs. Lillian Granderson of Sarasota. I am an educator, and much of my work has had international focus, so my interest in art has both broadened and deepened as I have traveled in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America and recognized the power of art to teach us about our cultural differences and our common humanity. The Ringling’s International Arts Festival captures that international artistic power, thereby enhancing the cultural offerings of a museum filled with artful landscape, architecture, furniture, carvings, paintings, sculpture, and a uniquely artful perspective for skyview and waterview as well. The Ringling estate is a very special place indeed!

What experience do you share with others to encourage them to visit The Ringling?

The Ringling has also provided a very special experience for me connected to my previous work as an educator. In the 1960s I researched children’s books about African-Americans and Africans because those books were very hard to find; so the children’s book that won the Newbery Medal in 1966 caught my attention. Titled, I, Juan de Pareja, by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino, it is a fictionalized autobiography of a man of African descent who was the enslaved assistant to the famous painter, Diego Velázquez in Spain. Juan de Pareja was also a painter in his own right and after he was freed by Velázquez in 1654, Pareja became a painter with significant commissions.

Five years after the fictionalized autobiography won the Newbery Medal, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York purchased a portrait of Juan de Pareja painted by Diego Velázquez. I went to see the portrait and purchased a print of it to use with the book when I talked about the African presence in Europe with teachers and students.

Recently, I decided to frame the print of the portrait and learn about Juan de Pareja’s paintings. Imagine my surprise in searching the internet to find that the only listing of a signed and dated painting by Juan de Pareja exhibited in the U.S. is in The Ringling Museum of Art! I rushed over to see the painting, the Flight Into Egypt, in the Spanish gallery. I am also a member of the Manasota chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Last April, I made a presentation to ASALH about Juan de Pareja’s life and work and invited members to join me to see the painting at The Ringling. Several days later, forty-three members of the association gathered in the Spanish gallery of the museum expressing great enthusiasm for my discovery of a work of art that is also a very special historical artifact from 1658.

What upcoming programs/exhibitions are you most excited to attend?

The excitement continues as we learn that Juan de Pareja’s painting will be loaned to an exhibition at the Louvre in Paris in 2015. Before the painting travels, our chapter of ASALH, led by Mark Jackson, is collaborating with The Ringling in finding ways to celebrate the painting and Juan de Pareja. Ringling board member, Michele Redwine is leading this effort and we are also fortunate that Eleanor Merritt Darlington, honored as a former Ringling board member and 25-year docent, is also a member of our history association. As a member of The Ringling and of ASALH, I am very pleased that I can join collaborative projects in celebration of Juan de Pareja and his work.

In January, 2014, our collaboration extends to the North Sarasota Public Library and the Booker middle school. Thanks to the successful efforts of Dr. Lonnetta Gaines and Arlen Bensen at the library, I will work with principal LaShawn Houston-Frost at Booker Middle School where she has selected a seventh grade teacher and an eighth grade teacher whose students will read the book, I, Juan de Pareja. A field trip to The Ringling to view Juan de Pareja’s painting and a visit to The Ringling Art Library will be included in the study project. At the end of February, students will make a presentation at the North Sarasota Library to family and friends to share their learning about the book and the painting.

What is the most important aspect of a museum – why do you think museums are important to the community?

These proposed collaborative projects all connect to a rare painting in the collection of The Ringling—illustrating why I believe museums are such a vital community resource. They preserve cultural treasures and promote enriched learning.