Monica McKelvey Johnson

Last updated
Monica McKelvey Johnson
Born
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Education San Francisco State University (BA, 2001)
CUNY Hunter College’s Integrated Media Arts Program (MFA)
Occupation(s)Artist, curator, activist
Known forActivism on student debt
Notable workThe Adventures of Dorrit Little
Website woolandbrick.com

Monica McKelvey Johnson, born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, [1] is an artist, curator, and activist living in Brooklyn, New York. [2]

Contents

Education

McKelvey Johnson has received degrees from San Francisco State University (BA, 2001), [3] and CUNY Hunter College’s Integrated Media Arts Program (MFA). [4] [5] She also studied painting at the Pratt Institute in New York City. [6]

Artwork

McKelvey Johnson was represented by The Jack Fischer Gallery in San Francisco [6] and exhibited her artwork, including drawings, embroidery, gouache, in the show “STICK 'EM UP! STAY DOWN! GROW UP!” (June 14 - July 21, 2007). [7] [8] The exhibition was largely illustrative; [9] Artweek described the works on display as “familiar and unnervingly odd”. [10] She also creates and sells textile art. [11]

She authored the webcomic The Adventures of Dorrit Little, which explores the plight of a graduate student with heavy debt who questions the wisdom of her education decisions and the value of her multiple degrees. Much of the protagonist's perspective and questions are based on McKelvey Johnson's own experience with student debt. [1] The comic is based loosely on Charles Dickens’ novel Little Dorrit , which also confronts issues around debt, [12] and seeks to create greater transparency around student debt. [13] [14] For the publication Food Equality in our City (2014), McKelvey Johnson created a comic strip representing interviews with Poughkeepsie residents who had experienced food insecurity. [15] Her comics zine Riding for Two describes the need for greater awareness of the needs of pregnant people on public transit. [16]

Curatorial work

As a volunteer [17] at the all-volunteer Interference Archive, McKelvey Johnson has co-organized several exhibitions, including Our Comics, Ourselves: Identity, Expression and Representation in Comic Art, [18] which has toured to George Mason University, [19] [20] the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center on the University of Connecticut, Storrs Campus, [21] and the University of Connecticut at Waterbury; as well as Take Back the Fight: Resisting Sexual Violence from the Ground Up. [22] The catalog for Our Comics, Ourselves, edited with Jan Descartes and Ethan Heitner, includes writing from comics creators including Sophie Yanow, Sabrina Jones, William H. Foster III, Ganzeer, Paul Buhle, Jan Descartes, Sandy Jimenez, Nils Hanczar, John Jennings, Leela Corman, Elvis B., Jay Odjick, and A. K. Summers. [23]

She has worked as a production manager for Creative Time [24] and as Manager of Exhibitions at the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, curating and archiving winning artwork from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. [25] [26]

Writing

McKelvey Johnson writes about comics for The Rumpus [27] and The Comics Journal . [28] She has also written about student debt and arts education for The Hunts Point Express. [29]

Activism

McKelvey Johnson founded the student debtor support group EDU Debtors Union in 2011, to advocate for union representation for student debtors [30] [12] She has spoken about student debt at the Left Forum, [1] at NYU’s Winning the Crisis: Debt * Narrative * Movements * Counter-Archives conference, March 21 and 22, 2012, [31] [32] and at the Station Independent Projects gallery. [33] Her activism on student debt was combined with her artistic work in Faces of Debt, an interactive installation which encouraged participants to speak up about their own student debt experiences. [34]

Related Research Articles

Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Mason University</span> Public research university in Fairfax, Virginia

George Mason University is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia. The university was originally founded in 1949 as a Northern Virginia regional branch of the University of Virginia. Named after Founding Father of the United States George Mason in 1959, it became an independent university in 1972. The school has since grown into the largest public university in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Mason operates four campuses and one retreat-conference center in Virginia - in Fairfax, Arlington, Front Royal, Prince William, and Lorton respectively -, as well as a campus in Incheon, South Korea. The flagship campus is in Fairfax.

<i>Little Dorrit</i> Novel by Charles Dickens

Little Dorrit is a novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in serial form between 1855 and 1857. The story features Amy Dorrit, youngest child of her family, born and raised in the Marshalsea prison for debtors in London. Arthur Clennam encounters her after returning home from a 20-year absence, ready to begin his life anew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Vess</span> American fantasy and comics artist

Charles Vess is an American fantasy artist and comics artist who has specialized in the illustration of myths and fairy tales. His influences include British "Golden Age" book illustrator Arthur Rackham, Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha, and comic-strip artist Hal Foster, among others. Vess has won several awards for his illustrations. Vess' studio, Green Man Press, is located in Abingdon, VA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Fingeroth</span> American comic book writer and editor

Daniel Fingeroth is an American comic book writer and editor, best known for a long stint as group editor of the Spider-Man books at Marvel Comics.

Notable events of 2006 in comics. See also List of years in comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomer Hanuka</span> Israeli illustrator and cartoonist

Tomer Hanuka is an Israeli illustrator and cartoonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hero Initiative</span>

The Hero Initiative, formerly known as A Commitment to Our Roots, or ACTOR, is the first federally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of comic book and trade publishers, including Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Wizard Entertainment, CrossGen Comics and Dynamic Forces Inc., the 501(c)(3) charity aims to assist comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance.

The Art Institute of Pittsburgh was a private college in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Shortly before closing in 2019, it was purchased by Dream Center Education Holdings It was located in Pittsburgh, and emphasized design education and career preparation for the creative job market. It was founded in 1921 and closed in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raina Telgemeier</span> American cartoonist, illustrator, and writer

Raina Telgemeier is an American cartoonist. Her works include the autobiographical webcomic Smile, which was published as a full-color middle grade graphic novel in February 2010, and the follow-up Sisters and the fiction graphic novel Drama, all of which have been on The New York Times Best Seller lists. She has also written and illustrated the graphic novels Ghosts and Guts as well as four graphic novels adapted from The Baby-Sitters Club stories by Ann M. Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshalsea</span> Former prison in Southwark, London

The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, in particular, for its incarceration of the poorest of London's debtors. Over half the population of England's prisoners in the 18th century were in jail because of debt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chitra Ganesh</span>

Chitra Ganesh is a visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Ganesh's work across media includes: charcoal drawings, digital collages, films, web projects, photographs, and wall murals. Ganesh draws from mythology, literature, and popular culture to reveal feminist and queer narratives from the past and to imagine new visions of the future.

Comics studies is an academic field that focuses on comics and sequential art. Although comics and graphic novels have been generally dismissed as less relevant pop culture texts, scholars in fields such as semiotics, aesthetics, sociology, composition studies and cultural studies are now re-considering comics and graphic novels as complex texts deserving of serious scholarly study.

Scott M. Fischer is an American artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games and in children's books.

Notable events of 2016 in comics. See also List of years in comics. This is a list of comics-related events in 2016. It includes any relevant comics-related events, deaths of notable comics-related people, conventions and first issues by title.

John Jay McKelvey was an American author, attorney, and preservationist who set precedents in establishing the Harvard Law Review and in framing case law to craft the environs of his Spuyten Duyvil community, New York.

Justin Robinson Hall is an American cartoonist and educator. He has written and illustrated autobiographical and erotic comics, and edited No Straight Lines, a scholarly overview of LGBT comics of the previous 40 years. He is an Associate Professor of Comics and Writing-and-Literature at the California College of the Arts.

Chawky Frenn is a Lebanese-born American artist, author, and art professor. He currently teaches art at George Mason University in northern Virginia. His highly realistic paintings have strong narrative social and political elements. Frenn is a former Fulbright scholar, and currently resides in the Greater Washington, D.C. area.

Peach Momoko is a pseudonymous Japanese comic book artist and writer. In 2020, she signed an exclusive deal with Marvel Comics as part of their Stormbreakers program for rising talent in the American comic book industry. In 2021, she received both the Eisner Award and Ringo Award for best cover artist. That same year, she launched the "Momoko-verse", a line of comics at Marvel that reimagines the Marvel Universe within the lens of Japanese folktales.

Gallery Route One is a non-profit arts organization in Point Reyes Station, California. It was founded in 1983 by a group of artists from the area. It is a membership based organization with public outreach, educational, and juried exhibition programming.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "A Graduate Student With $88,000 in Student Loans Speaks Out". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  2. ↑ "Reception & Curator's Talk Tonight! | News". timesync.gmu.edu. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  3. ↑ "Motifs: March/April 2018 | Crescendo". crescendo.interlochen.org. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  4. ↑ "IMA alumna Monica Johnson organizes show". Film & Media - Hunter College. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  5. ↑ "Motifs: March/April 2018 | Crescendo". crescendo.interlochen.org. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  6. 1 2 "monica johnson. - my love for you". myloveforyou.typepad.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  7. ↑ Fischer, Jack. "The Jack Fischer Gallery : Shows". www.jackfischergallery.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  8. ↑ "VISUAL ARTS / New view / See the world through different eyes. Find out what's fresh, what's not to be missed and what you've got a last chance to see". SFGate. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  9. ↑ "San Francisco Art Galleries - First Thursday Art Openings: July 5, 2007". www.artbusiness.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  10. ↑ Spicer, Jakki (2007). "Monica Johnson at Jack Fischer Gallery". Artweek. 38 (7): 14–15.
  11. ↑ Salamone, Gina. "Queens Museum of Art's gift shop spotlights borough artists, including wire, crochet, canvas crafts - NY Daily News". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  12. 1 2 Johnson, Monica (2014). "The Adventures of Dorrit Little". Women's Studies Quarterly. 42 (1/2): 95–108. doi:10.1353/wsq.2014.0003. JSTOR   24364911. S2CID   85212148.
  13. ↑ Contemporary, Temple (2013-12-06), Debt Day , retrieved 2018-06-19
  14. ↑ "The Adventures of Dorrit Little by Monica Johnson at Structural Patterns". www.ambriente.com. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  15. ↑ "Food Equality Newspaper". publicgreen.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  16. ↑ "Riding For Two". Microcosm Publishing. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  17. ↑ "How New York's Interference Archive Keeps Activist Design History Alive". Eye on Design. 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  18. ↑ "Our Comics Ourselves — The Beat". www.comicsbeat.com. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 2018-12-07.
  19. ↑ "Our Comics, Ourselves: Identity, Expression, and Representation in Comic Art | Fenwick Gallery". fenwickgallery.gmu.edu. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  20. ↑ Rhode, Mike (2017-09-19). "ComicsDC: Our Comics, Ourselves exhibit at GMU going on now". ComicsDC. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  21. ↑ "Our Comics, Ourselves on Exhibit". Archives and Special Collections Blog. 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  22. ↑ "Take Back the Fight: Resisting Sexual Violence from the Ground up – Interference Archive".
  23. ↑ "Our comics, ourselves : identity, expression, and representation in comic art in SearchWorks catalog". searchworks.stanford.edu. OCLC   936716703 . Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  24. ↑ "Playing the Building | An Installation by David Byrne". creativetime.org. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  25. ↑ "Designing an Exhibition". art.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  26. ↑ "Behind the scenes: Archiving the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards | On Our Minds". oomscholasticblog.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  27. ↑ "Monica Johnson". The Rumpus.net. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  28. ↑ "Monica Johnson | The Comics Journal". www.tcj.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  29. ↑ "Hunts Point Express – Monica Johnson". brie.hunter.cuny.edu. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  30. ↑ "Occupying Student Debt | Dissent Magazine". Dissent Magazine. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  31. ↑ "Conference: Winning the Crisis | Debt * Narrative * Movements * Counter-Archives | March 21 & 22". in.ter.reg.num. 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  32. ↑ DiSalvo, Jackie (2013-05-05). "Political Education--Occupy Wall Street's First Year". Radical Teacher (96): 6–15. doi: 10.5195/rt.2013.18 . ISSN   1941-0832.
  33. ↑ Projects, Station Independent. "Station Independent Projects". www.stationindependent.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  34. ↑ "Faces of Debt – iArt". iart.shashafeng.com. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.