Me

Don Johnson

Interview by L. Valena

Can you please describe what you responded to?

The painting I responded to was what looked like at first to be the "Don't Tread on Me" flag, with the rattlesnake. As I got closer to it, I noticed a digital filter that you see on websites, and then looking even deeper there were porn images in the background. Some of those were left open so you could see them. And instead of 'Don't Tread on Me', it was 'Don't ____ on Me'. You could fill in the blank.

What was your first reaction to that?

When I first saw it, I saw it on my phone so it wasn't very big- all I saw was the 'Don't ___ on Me' flag. I wanted to zoom in when I saw that box on the side. And once I did I realized that it was more of a dichotomy between a few different things.

The initial flag part of it, traditionally, is kind of like a warning. Or protection. Military. So I put that in a little box by itself. Then I looked deeper, and saw the filter and the pornographic images, and it just made me think about how we can instantly get whatever we want. Not just with porn, but everything. I kind of compartmentalized it- I put that in it's own box. I kind of dissected it. On the one end, you have defense- defending something you love, and maybe something historical. In the other box it was lust and technological. Most of the art I create isn't complex subject matter. I tried to write it all down and figure out what I was thinking. I kind of had it sectioned off into ‘love’ and ‘lust’.

And what happened next?

The images in the background were so layered- I was trying to think of something that has multiple images like that. I thought of social media: Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube. I tried to go with the lust thing, so I went with Instagram, and these influencers. Everyone just shows their bodies and muscles, and their fabulous lives as well. They try to make it unattainable.

That's what I was initially going with, but then I kind of spiraled into the 'do you like me?' note. With the flag, the artist left the space open to fill in; I was trying to think of some sort of iconic place where people fill in the blank. I was trying to make them juxtaposed against each other, but then I realized that they were connected. People want instant gratification- instant likes. They want people to want them. That's why I underlined the 'me'- it's more about ‘me’ than trying to build a relationship I guess.

Instagram is so weird like that. There's something so cool about just posting something- "here's just a thing I'm doing," but it's never that casual. There's always this second moment, where you like whip your head around and check to see if anyone saw it. Did anyone like it?

We all do that, too. It's something we can all relate to.

Have you ever sent a note like this?

I probably did on Instant Messenger or something, back in the day, but don't think I ever did. I was pretty timid I guess.

One thing I think is really interesting about this is the fact that there's a 'Yes', 'No', 'Maybe' and an 'Other'. Can you talk about that?

Well, the typical is yes/no. But growing up, I don't know if this is a real thing, or only in my mind, but people would write in 'Maybe' and check it. And kind of leave that person hanging. But then I put 'Other' in there, because now we do have so much choice. There's so much grey area. On the dating scene, with Tindr and all those dating apps, people go and date multiple people all the time. It's just a constant wheel of people in and out of other people's lives. So I just added that in there, because today it feels like things are more complex than just yes or no, and even more than just maybe.

How does this relate to the rest of your work?

Content-wise it doesn't. I like to be playful with my art. Most of the time that's with the process of it- trying to show the viewer different layers and different ways that they can look at it. The deeper you go the more you see. I like to work in a lot of thin layers, so that kind of helps show stuff come through. For the most part, doing the more childish note, made it more playful than the original work. I think it kept it more innocent. I guess that's the closest thing that comes to my normal work- the subject matter is a lot heavier than my typical stuff.

This process was new to me. I was just looking for art calls on Instagram, and came across one of your posts. I didn't exactly know what was going to happen. I've been out of grad school for quite a while, and since then I don't have a deep art community where I get to talk about art as much. I kind of had to rewind, sit down and dissect it. I think it was really good for me to do this. I don't think we necessarily do that as much when we're not in an academic setting. I think this was a really good thing for me.

Call Number: C37VA | C38VA.joMe

Don Johnson is an artist who loves to play with shape, line, and layers.  He earned a BA in Fine Art and Business at Augustana University, and a MFA in Fine Art at the University of Idaho.  Don is currently a working artist in Denver, Colorado.