Feature Articles

November Issue 2002

Nina Liu and Friends in Charleston, SC, Features Photography by Michael Johnson

An exhibition of new photographs by Michael Johnson depicting Charleston and the Lowcountry will be on view at Nina Liu and Friends in Charleston, SC, from Nov. 1 - 30, 2002.

Johnson's large-scale black and white photographs are already familiar to the Charleston audience because of several exhibitions of Midwestern and Western landscapes at Nina Liu and Friends and at the Gibbes Museum of Art. His work is collected by museums and corporations, worldwide, and is well represented in many Charleston collections.

This upcoming exhibition differs in that the subject of the photographs is Charleston and the surrounding landscape. For years, the question Johnson was asked most frequently was, "When are you going to photograph Charleston?" This exhibition is his answer.

Photographic trips to Charleston in 2001 and 2002 resulted in this collection of landscape and architectural work. "I love Charleston," says Johnson, "It is truly my favorite city, which is quite an admission from a hermit who lives in the woods of Northwestern Illinois, miles from any city. Over the last twelve years, I have loved walking the streets of this city, visually cataloguing architectural details and abstract compositions. Here, in this exhibition, is what I've found with my camera, not necessarily the most historically significant, architecturally important or oldest buildings, but bits and pieces that, for me, make up the essence of Charleston."

Included in this group of photographs are images of salt marshes, cemeteries, historic plantations, ruins and architecture. "Regardless of subject matter, it is the light that makes the difference. Whether it's the moisture-laden dawn light filtering through Spanish moss or the last rays of the sun outlining headstones in a city cemetery, it is the specific quality of the light that is most important to me," says Johnson.

Now that he has started, Johnson says he will probably never finish photographing the area. "It is delightful to be able to walk this entire city. The hospitality I have encountered is remarkable; from the welcome of local residents to the generosity of the many historic foundations that so graciously allowed me time to photograph in their buildings."

For more information check our SC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/722-2724 or on the web at (www.michaeljohnsonphotography.com).

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