Descension 2011

Andrew Ellis Johnson
Sites of Passage: Egypt and the US, September 9, 2011 – February 12, 2012
Materials
HD video, sound

Curated by Tavia La Follette

Description

Curated by Tavia La Follette

Artist Statement

Imaginings, beliefs, aspirations depart to individual realms.
Gravity, hunger, need unite at this solitary hole.
Nomad, cultivator (and tourist) dwell on this immutable clod.
Cradles quake, civilizations submit, revolutions orbit this steady sand.

The camera holds, camels bend, grass falls, and insects crawl — a glimpse of our collective Egypt.

About the Artist

Andrew Ellis Johnson’s exhibition topics have ranged from the apocalypse to animal nature and disasters of war to the culture of class. Venues for his work have included museums, galleries, electronic arts and video festivals, public collaborations, conferences, books and journals in North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He is co-founder of the socially engaged collective, PED, that has performed in Buffalo, Belfast, Chongqing, Rio de Janeiro, St. John’s and Tonawanda. Johnson received his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his MFA from Carnegie Mellon University where he is Associate Professor of Art.