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This blog has moved. Visit http://www.norahjohnson.com
| Nora Hutchinson Johnson received a BA in Fine Art from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, PA, and conducted her post-graduate studies at Les Beaux Arts in Paris and New York University in New York. An accomplished and prolific artist, her professional life has included more than 85 major commissions for
the public, corporate and private sector, spanning four continents. Among those are works for Bank of America, The Peoria Civic Center, E.I.Dupont, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA and the Hyatt Regency.
“I love the synergy of the collaborative process, whether with the designer or the client or combining my own abilities with the talents of others in the field. My goal is to satisfy the needs of the architectural space while bringing the dreams and visions of the client to life. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to create unique works for a variety of architectural settings. The creative process always begins by listening to the client, responding to the architecture, and bringing the best of myself to each project." |
One of my earliest memories as a child was of looking up and seeing spruce airfoils, which had been parts for my father’s gliders that he made as a teen, and flew off local cliffs near his home. I always loved the forms, but had no idea how to incorporate them into my artwork, but one day, I realized that I had to just leap into sculpture that revolved around the forms I loved. At that same time, I was asked to design 3 lobby works for a developer building a corporate headquarters for AT&T. I did not realize when I proposed works with winged imagery that he had been an aeronautical engineer in his earlier life and loved the theme. Exploring winged symbolic forms gradually folded inward and became cocoons and boats, a way of dealing with the death of my father who had worked with me fabricating some of the larger commissioned works. |
| Perhaps the clearest opportunity for using wings as an obvious spiritual symbol was for Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, WI. The hospital, owned an operated by a Franciscan order of nuns felt strongly that art had a very important part in the healing process and in their ministry, which centered on service. The core element of the 34’ sculpture suspended in the lobby atrium as an homage to St Francis, was a pair of 2 golden wing forms surrounded by tiny versions of the same curved elements in glass resembling clusters of birds. To reinforce the hospital’s belief that spirituality was at the core of their healing mission, one of the large abstract golden wings morphed into realistic looking 'feathers' at its tip. |
The call for artist specified a suspended sculptural work to “fill” the 180’ long by 64’ high space and weigh less than 1000lbs. In addition, the sculpture was to be relevant to the community at large, who participated by large and small donations in paying for the artwork. The design was conceived as a sort of a 'flying carpet' with patterns painted on the wing form surfaces evocative of the American Arts and crafts movement, a significant part of the history of the Midwest, employing numerous artisans in production of furnishings and pottery. The final patterns, however, were taken from African fabrics, patterns which have a direct correlation to designs used universally in many cultures, and to the arts and crafts movement in Western culture. Using symbolic imagery spanning diverse cultures formed a bridge between the sculpture and the community who supported the work. Because of the weight restraints and the need for a large scale visual statement, the armatures for the 7 elements were designed using airfoil principles, allowing for maximum surface and minimal weight. The largest elements, each 25’ long, weighed only 165 lbs. each. |
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Heaven-specific design again was used in another hospital, St Vincent’s in Linwood, CA, operated by the Daughters of Charity Order, the same order of nuns that came to CA with the Spanish priests and established the mission trail centuries ago. The newest addition to the hospital, where I was commissioned to design and produce an 87’ suspended work, was designed as an abstract glass version of a cathedral, using the symbolic numerical equivalents to express the trinity, the 4 apostles, etc, The Sisters specifically requested that the sculpture be a series of bells, as the lobby tower resembled a campanilla, albeit a glass one. The bells, conforming to the interior space of the gradually narrowing “tower”, spiral as if ascending to the heavens. In place of the expected clappers, were cast roses, an homage to the patron saint of the hospital and to the Latino community, largely Mexican immigrant, the Virgin of Guadalupe, and her iconography of the Virgin surrounded by roses. Using the roses was a design risk, loved by the nuns, but not understood by all. But I knew that I had succeeded in my personal goal when a neighborhood visitor saw the sculpture for the first time, dropped to his knees with tears in his eyes and genuflected. |
