Outdoor Sculpture Environment, 2020
by Chris Johanson with 3rd Grade Student at Dr. MLK Jr. School
Chris Johanson and 3rd Grade Students at Dr. MLK Jr. School developed a set of concrete sculptures that will permanently live in the school's outdoor courtyard. Students designed seats and bird baths, and Johanson made concrete sculptures to the students' design specifications. This project took place remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This work is installed in the cafeteria outdoor courtyard.
Chris Johanson (American, b.1968) is a painter and street artist associated with the San Francisco Mission School, and best known for his graffiti art and playful, cartoon-like style. Born in San Jose, CA, he had no formal artistic training, but began working on figurative drawings and painting on skateboards at an early age. In 1989, he moved to San Francisco’s Mission District, and became part of a group of artists, collectively known as the Mission School, who sought to convey urban realism and social commentary in their graffiti art. Johanson became internationally known in 2002 after participating in the Whitney Biennial exhibition.
Designs by 3rd Grade Students
Sculptures by chris JOhanson with Ajax Oakford
Photos by Intisar Abioto
Statement from The Artist
"The project we made is an outdoor sculptural environment. For the project, I had a Zoom meeting with 3rd grade students where we discussed public sculpture and the mechanics of constructing using cement. Then students designed and art directed the creation of cement chairs and a birdbath for one of the school courtyards. Some of the students gave verbal directions during the Zoom class and others gave drawings, paintings, and computer-generated renderings the following week. Myself and my friend Ajax Oakford studied the materials and went to work fabricating the cement pieces based on what we were given. There is a certain amount of interpretation involved in taking a 2D image and making it a 3D object. We also combined some aspects of the drawings so that we could include more voices in the five chairs/benches and birdbath that we created. We hope the students like how it turned out. It was an honor to work with them on this project.
Thanks to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School, KSMoCA, Vans (for their financial support in this project), and thank you especially to the students who were part of this project."
— Chris Johanson