Featured Artist- Mutope Johnson
Many locals, especially students, may be most familiar with Mutope Johnson as an instructor at UW-Whitewater. He is also known by many more as a professional artist. Johnson shared with Whitewater Arts Alliance more about his art and himself as an artist.
Johnson grew up in a large family in Milwaukee, knowing from a young age that he wanted to be an artist. He expresses gratitude that his family was supportive of his creative ambitions, “I had the chance to think freely, and my parents fed my creativity, which is rare, looking back on it.” Johnson observes that creativity is often squashed by the time aspiring artists reach high school because an art career is not thought of as fruitful by many. He went to UW-Whitewater for his BFA. After graduation he worked at design studios, painting on the side along the way. He decided to become a professional artist and share his work with the world. He then attended Peck School of the Arts and worked at UWM to earn his MFA. After his graduate degree, he was offered an opportunity to do a workshop of 2-3 sessions and teach at UW-Whitewater. During this time Dean McPhail approached Johnson about the Inclusive Excellence Fellowship, a 1 year program. 6 years later, Johnson is still teaching. He expressed that he never would have thought he would be returning to Whitewater in the capacity of an instructor, one of the many places that helped shape his artistic experience. He started with teaching Creative Entrepreneurship courses, and has taught Advanced Painting, Graphic Design, and New Student Seminar. He currently teaches World of the Arts.
Johnson’s current body of work is titled “Blue through Brown Eyes” He considers this collection “a work in progress” taking shape over years with concentration on African American history and culture including music, poetry, and fine arts. He focuses on the color blue, which Johnson describes as a metaphor, “a protest in some ways” that “allows people to talk about color in a very different way” which, according to Johnson, can be both an overt or subtle entry into uncomfortable conversations like race that many tend to avoid. Johnson describes using art as a tool, informing in visual ways to form good ground for positive discussion and connectivity, “for the discourse we need.” Johnson observes that it is often difficult to be openly expressive. “Many times we are penalized for being honest and truthful.” When describing his art, he states “I create art with dignity, that doesn’t demean or criticize the individual. In doing that, it gives me a purpose.” He went on to explain the intentional choice of blue as a focus and its role in American and world history, representing royalty, and being associated with the textile and cotton industry, blue jeans and the indigo plant. The indigo plant was a cash crop, supplied along with cotton to create uniforms for the union army during the Civil War. Blue also has a strong presence in musical history, with the Blues being an original American artform. When reflecting on this historical knowledge, Johnson stated “I can share stories I’m interested in...and make these stories available for the public through fine art.” “The art is a reminder of history or a loss of history that isn’t often visited.” Johnson expressed that by viewing the past, we can determine where we are going, lessons learned, and continue to learn more. “We are all continuing to learn something. As long as we live, we will continue to learn. We have to have the willingness to do so.” Johnson described his opportunity to share and learn this history with students by weaving it into course offerings.
Johnson states his inspiration comes from sources of both past and present. “I am inspired by the many people in history who have come before me, paying homage to my ancestors. Looking at their challenges and struggles, and how they overcome them are inspirations. I find others are far more interesting than I am. It’s easy to look to artists, activists, musicians, spiritualists, people who share their gifts with us.” Johnson also described sometimes being inspired by the power of nature, like the color of birds, or the landscape when traveling cross-country.
Johnson explained that his artistic process starts with thinking and feeling. Sometimes it may look like pondering ideas or interests at the time, sketching, and “creative combustion” from idle time. Other times, Johnson describes experiences with dreams, “I’ve had dreams about work I hadn’t seen before. Often that art becomes my paintings. I consider these spiritual gifts given to me. I wake up in the middle of the night and sketch it out so I don’t forget it.” He described it as a subject “you’re so passionate about you dream about it.” Another option for him is spending time reading and researching a subject, which informs a process about concepts, sketches, and materials. “I don’t limit myself to media. I’ll use paper, canvas, lithographic prints, acrylic, oil, and sculpture. I challenge myself all the time so I’m always doing something to keep me engaged with the process.” When describing the entire art process as a professional, he states “My artmaking process is holistic. It’s everything I do.” “Art for me is not a hobby, it’s a profession.” When considering the role of art and creativity, Johnson asserts that creativity is necessary in many professions, even if not in the traditional way of art-making. “It is so important not to stifle that creativity. I give credit to young people who have resisted, gone with their gut feelings, know what they want, and just haven’t shown what they can do yet. For those interested in the arts, they can have some of my time. I have made a commitment to inform, inspire, and share.” Not only is creativity necessary, Johnson believes it is the path to progress. “As long as we can tap into our higher selves, better selves, angelic selves, and share with others, you’ll be amazed how we can help change humanity. We often think ‘I’m just one person, what can I do.’... When you talk to kids, they want to change the world. They have no limitations...We should tap into our young ambitions of wanting to right the wrong and not place limitations on ourselves or others...I believe in the power of one. There is so much we have to contribute to humanity...We have a superpower and don’t know it.’
To see Johnson’s work, there is a current exhibition in Roberta’s Art Gallery at UW-Whitewater from January 13th through February 26th. He has upcoming exhibitions in February at the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton WI, a solo show at UW-Milwaukee’s Union Gallery in April, and a feature of the commissioned portrait of Jimmy Banks at the Grohmann Museum of Milwaukee School of Engineering. You can view more of his digital presence at mutopejj on Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/mutopejj/ and his blog at https://mutopejjohnson.blogspot.com/