Vivien Joan Johnson (born 1949)[1] is an Australian sociologist, writer on Indigenous Australian art, curator, teacher and former editor-in-chief of the Dictionary of Australian Artists Online. She is based in Sydney with frequent travel to Papunya where much of her work is centered. Johnson is considered to be a pioneer in interdisciplinary research as she combines anthropological, sociological, philosophical and art historical perspectives. She has also done extensive work on Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights.[2]
Achievements edit
Johnson curated the 2003 - 2005 Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri national touring retrospective and the 2007 - 2008 National Museum of Australia’s Papunya Painting: out of the desert which toured to Sydney and Beijing.[3]
In 2005 she was made Professor of New Media Narrative and Theory at the University of New South Wales.[4] As of 2021[update] she is Adjunct Art and Design Professor.[5]
In 2020 Johnson was made a National Library of Australia fellow looking at Writing Papunya: The Making of an Illustrated Vernacular Literature 1974-1991
She was a longtime friend of artist Kumantje Jagamara, and spoke at his funeral in March 2021.[5]
Select publications edit
Johnson is notable for the publication of several key reference works in the field of contemporary Indigenous Australian art, including
- The art of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (1994)
- Western Desert Artists: A Biographical Dictionary (1995)
- Lives of the Papunya Tula Artists (2008)
- Once Upon a Time in Papunya (2010)[6]
- Streets of Papunya : the re-invention of Papunya painting (2015)[7]
She has also published over 100 articles in both art and academic journals.[2]
References edit
- ^ "Johnson, Vivien". trove.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Vivien Johnson". Art Collector Magazine. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Vivien Johnson". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "New Professors to lead groundbreaking research". University of New South Wales. 6 July 2005. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- ^ a b Gordon, Oliver (11 March 2021). "Pioneering Indigenous artist Kumantje Nelson Jagamara remembered in Alice Springs". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- ^ Eccles, Jeremy (11 November 2010). "Once Upon a Time in Papunya (review)". Aboriginal Art News. Retrieved 20 November 2010.
- ^ Mendelssohn, Joanna (17 September 2015). "Streets of Papunya delivers an artistic renaissance worth celebrating". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
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