Pennsylvania Folk Art: The Undiscovered Work of Job Johnson
This project is directly based on the oral and written stories of life in north central Pennsylvania as told through the drawings done by an alter ego named Job Johnson who lived at the beginning of the Industrial Era. (1860 to 1937)
Living in the big city and a trip to Ireland provided the contrast that illuminated a culture and heritage that I had taken for granted. Since I moved back to Williamsport in 2003, I’ve spent many afternoons exploring historical sites and walking in the woods. My relatives tell me stories about people and places that no longer exist, painting vivid pictures in my mind of a rich cultural past. I started making pictures about this history and the stories I’ve heard. My influence also comes from the writings of Henry W. Shoemaker, an early leader of the Pennsylvania Historical Commission, folklorist, conservationist, and family relative.
Like Shoemaker once said, “My goal is to show the legacy of legends for landscape features such as trees, animals, caves and caverns, rivers, and mountains; by making people realize the spiritual narratives associated with the environment I hope to make them more respectful and conservation-minded.”
The need for a split in artistic identities enables me to move in different directions and deal with a different set of problems. I’m interested in the preservation of history and nature throughout central Pennsylvania. Consumption and Land Development have slowly eroded our local heritage.
Each work is a drawing made on hand-made paper and framed in natural hand-made wood frames collected from the fallen trees in the surrounding forest. – Jeremiah Johnson
“Will Simplicity outlast the thirst for Ease and Prosperity?” -Henry W. Shoemaker
The Story of Job Exhibition in the basement below Arcilesi/Homberg Fine Art Gallery 139 Eldridge St. New York, NY from May 14th -August 14th 2015. Installation viewInstallation View
Black Agnes Dunbar, 1932 – charcoal, red clay, graphite wax, human hair on hand made paper, hand-made wooden frame. 30×25″ COLLECTION OF THE TAUBMAN MUSEUM OF ART, Roanoke, VA
Metzel Soup, 1930 – graphite, charcoal, clay on hand made paper, hand made natural wood frame. 32×27”Bloody Run, 1932– graphite, charcoal, clay, human hair, on hand made paper, hand made natural wood frame. 27×33”A Binding Spell for Thieves, 1935 – red clay on wood. 5.5x23x1″ PRIVATE COLLECTIONThe Ghost of the Dancing Cupboard (At the Seven Switches on Pine Loganton Road), 1912. – graphite, charcoal, red clay on hand made paper, hand made wood frame. 19×25” I Wind, Who Holds? (date unknown) – graphite, red clay on hand made paper, hand made wood frame. 18×24”
Frank B Gowen Coffin Notice, 1904 –graphite, charcoal on 2 sheets of hand made paper. 24×12”
Breaker Boys, 1922 – charcoal and graphite on hand made paper. 11×17.5″ PRIVATE COLLECTIONHolding a Stag by the Antlers, 1918 – graphite on hand made paper hand made wood frame. 19×25″Witch Paper (date unknown) – graphite, red clay, horseshoe, nails, hand made paper on wood, hand made wood frame. 16x13x1.5” The Gum Stump, 1910 – graphite, charcoal on hand-made paper, hand-made wooden frame. 15.5×18.5″Wayside Destiny, (date unknown) – charcoal, red clay, graphite on hand made paper, hand-made wooden frame. 30×25″ PRIVATE COLLECTION
Last Great Pine (second version) , 1924 – Graphite on hand-made paper, hand made wood frame. 33×19″ PRIVATE COLLECTION
Old Simcox’s Coffin Ghost on Pine Loganton Road, 1914 – graphite, charcoal, red clay on hand-made paper handmade frame. 18.5×24.5″ Riding Out, 1924 – graphite, charcoal, red clay, green stone on hand-made paper, hand made wood frame. 17.5×15” PRIVATE COLLECTIONHe Resto…. 1934 – paint on wood. 11×20″ PRIVATE COLLECTIONThe Last Mountain Lion (date unknown) – graphite on hand made paper, hand made wood frame. 17×17” PRIVATE COLLECTIONRun Away Headless Chicken, (date unknown) – graphite, charcoal, red clay on hand-made paper, hand-made wooden frame. 18.5×24″ Laura Mae on the Fence, (date unknown) – graphite on hand made paper, hand-made wooden frame. 14.5×17″Through the Veil, 1927 – graphite, charcoal on hand made paper, hand made wood frame. 32×26” Sweet Jenna, 1894 – charcoal and graphite on hand made paper. 12×9”Pass Through, 1935 – red clay on wood. 5x34x1.5″Skidway Near the Falls of McElhattan Run, 1901 – graphite charcoal red clay on handmade paper, hand-made wooden frame. 16.5×18″
