I became an instant fan of Doug Johnston’s work when I spotted it first at Partners & Spade in New York City a while back. From that day forward, I have been coveting Doug’s beautifully designed rope bags, baskets, and sculptural pieces and thought he would be a wonderful guy to chat with here. Luckily for all of us, Doug agreed!
Various rope works, 2010 - 2011. Image by Michael Popp.
David Stark: Tell me a little about yourself? What is your background? How did you arrive at your particular form of art making?
Doug Johnston: I grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and had a desire to become an architect from an early age. I studied architecture and studio art at Drury University in Springfield, Mo and moved backed to Tulsa after undergrad to play music, work in architecture offices, and work on my own creative endeavors on the side. All roads pointed me towards the Cranbrook Academy Art near Detroit, where I could pursue my creative ideas in the Architecture Department, but without the prescribed constraints of a conventional architectural program. For our thesis work, my friend Yu-Chih Hsiao and I began weaving "nest" pavilions out of polyethylene tubing and zip ties.
nests, 2007. Collaboration with Yu-Chih Hsiao. Image by Michael Popp.
I continued that type of study into knitting and sewing, and eventually came upon this coiling technique about 3 years ago. Over the years I have suffered from trying to actively pursue too many interests - music, photography, design, architecture, art. Once I chose to really narrow my focus, my world changed for the better and I'm still doing most of those things in some way or another. The coiled and stitched work was the convergence of many interests for me, and felt like a very natural progression at the time. I was working at an architectural metal shop and was tasked with having some 3-d prints made of some projects. Learning about 3-d printing allowed me to see the coiling in a new way - where my sewing machine was the printer for my ideas. That really opened up the formal and technical possibilities.
Image by Michael Popp.
Tripplehorn, 2011. Image by Michael Popp.
DS: Speaking of process, tell us a little more about how it all comes together.
DJ: I typically start with sketches when I get an idea, or need to start working on an idea. I almost always sketch with pen on grid paper. Sometimes I get ideas while I'm sewing but usually they are triggered by random things. For the past year I've been too busy to immediately jump into working on new ideas, so they tend to sit a while and I keep my sketches handy for when I do get a moment to work on something new. Sometimes I will make a test/prototype and photograph it and show it to others to get feedback. Then it either moves ahead getting refined or it sits on the shelf for a while, waiting to get more attention. This waiting can take a long time - I have one test piece I made 2 years ago that is fairly straightforward, but it just needed to wait because I was much too excited about it to make any clear judgments, and I knew it would require more skill to properly pull off. With the stitched rope pieces, the process of making is very immediate, and that is what I love about it. In a relatively short time you can sit down and bring an idea into physicality, so it’s very easy to get into a dialog with the work.
DS: Do you struggle with the difference between art and craft? Design vs. fine art?
DJ: I don't struggle with it in my creative process; while I'm working there are just ideas and things I want to try to bring into reality. In my studio and in my mind there is maybe more of a spectrum from design to art,and craft is more about how one makes decisions. I assume this is the case for many artists and designers. The struggle, however, comes in when things or images of them leave the studio. The world outside my studio tends to rely on the distinctions between art, design, and craft, and people want to know what they are bringing into their lives. There is a distinction between a gallery and a retail store, and my work might fit in either context, but people go to those places with different expectations. There seems to be a growing number of hybrid spaces, retail galleries or concept stores that are catering to non-mass-produced art/design objects and it is helping dissolve the difficulty of presenting "hybrid" work.
Image by Michael Popp.
two stools, 2012. Image by Michael Popp. Available through Matter.
Image by Michael Popp.
DS: Where do you find your inspiration?
DJ: Everywhere! But mostly the internet. When I was commuting to jobs, I had time to read and sketch on the train and that was a good source. Now when I get creatively dry, I can easily look at whatever interests me online and that gets me back on track pretty quickly. Going to galleries and museums also really helps, and I'm trying to do more of that this year.
DS: What music do you listen to in your studio?
DJ: Because the sewing machines can be loud, we mostly listen with headphones, so everyone chooses their own work soundtrack. But many hours are spent sewing so we have a lot of time to listen! Personally I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and I've found my favorite to be science, history, or fantasy fiction. I really enjoy Radiolab, as do some of the people who work with me and we like to discuss the various show topics. As far as music, recently I've been really into Glenn Phillips' Echoes album, and I am a huge fan of anything involving Zach Hill.
Image by Michael Popp.
DS: If you were to collaborate with another artist, who would excite you?
DJ: I have several collaborations brewing right now with some great artists and designers that I'm very excited about. The most exciting collaborators are friends that I already have an easy line of communication with, and who have similar aspirations and aesthetic concerns, but complimentary approaches to the same problems.
DS: Do you make your pieces with function in mind?
DJ: Generally I start with a shape or form, and sometimes there is very general function in mind like a bag, basket, light, wearable, etc. Typically function is not my primary motivation, but for most of my work, I like there to be some utility, even if it’s not obvious.
Egyptian Bathroom, 2012.
Image by Michael Popp.
backpack, 2012.
DS: If time or money were not an issue, what would your dream project be?
DJ: Probably something on a utopian scale - creating facilities for a whole self-sustaining creative community. I have done a lot of reading on American utopian communities like the Shakers, Oneida Community, Owenites, Fourierists, etc. and I've fantasied about creating a contemporary version of something along those lines focused on art, design, and science. It would include housing, gallery and performance space, individual studio/lab spaces and communal manufacturing/shop/laboratory areas, a store and other facilities to support whatever we wanted/needed. The lesson that can be learned from history is that these kinds of things have a very low success rate, so, like most utopias, it's probably best as a dream.
DS: Well if the dream ever becomes a reality I would love to live there! You take custom orders, has anyone come to you with a crazy idea that you actually ended up making? Or was so crazy that you turned them down?
DJ: So far nothing super crazy has popped up, but I would love to work on something enormous at some point. I have had to turn down some things due to scheduling or technical impossibilities, though. One interesting custom project that did get completed was a large mask that was part of a costume for my friend Ben Finer's film, Night and a Switchblade. It was based on the masks worn by Komuso, a type of Japanese Buddhist Monk, and was incorporated into an amazing witch's costume by Bevan Dunbar. It was one of the more technically specific and tricky objects I've made, but was a lot of fun. I can't wait to see it in action in the film.
Scene from Night and A Switchblade. Image courtesy of Ben Finer.
DS: What a small world! I know Ben Finer and am very much looking forward to his film! So what’s next for you?
DJ: This year is going to be really great! In May there will be a show of my lighting pieces at Mondo Cane in Tribeca and that's my biggest focus at the moment. There are some larger installation/display and furniture-scale projects on the horizon, and the collaborations are really exciting, too. We also have nylon rope pieces and several new bag designs coming out in the next few weeks!
DS: We can’t wait to see it ALL!
Image by Michael Popp.
5-hump coiled pendant light, 2012
