LarryJohnson

Withauniquestylethatblendsdrawing,painting,photography,graphicdesign,andtext,Johnsoncreatesphotographicworksthataresardonic,frequentlymelancholicornostalgic,butalwayssharplyfocusedandpitchperfect.Evokingavarietyofartistictraditions,fromJapanesewoodblockprintstoPopart,manyofhispiecesincorporatewrittentexts,eitheroriginalorappropriatedfromdisparatesources,includinggossipmagazines,pulpfiction,black-boxflightrecorders,androcklyrics.Johnson'sworksrevealhisfascinationwithcelebrityculture,andparticularlythejunctureofaspirationsandfantasieswithreality.Hollywoodstarsandrockmusicians,politicalfiguresandheroesareoftenthesubjectsofhisfinelytunedvisualnarratives.Johnsoncastshissubtle,wittygazeontheseeminglymundaneaspectsofcontemporaryculture,particularlythatofSouthernCaliforniaduringthelatterhalfofthetwentiethcentury,andcomesupwithbrilliant,thought-provokingobservations.Thisvolume,whichaccompaniesamajorretrospectiveoftheartist'scareerattheHammerMuseum,featuresessaysbyRussellFerguson,LeeEdelmanandEstherLeslie,andaninterviewwiththeartistbyDavidRimanelli.