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USA
Southwest
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Kirtland, NM
Johnson Antonio
1931-
Carvings
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Information:
Johnson Antonio was more than fifty when he began carving likenesses of Navajo people and their animals. He calls these figures "dolls," but unlike the ceremonial Kachina carvings of the Hopi, these figures represent people from his own experience and reaffirm Navajo life in northern New Mexico. The ear of Indian corn held by the smallest female figure, the Navajo blanket draped over the arm of another, and the pairing of the central male figure with a dog are recurring motifs in Antonio's art. Antonio appreciates the money he earns for his work, but says, "I make them for myself.… The cash will soon be gone, but the dolls will live forever."
Lynda Hartigan. Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999).
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Bibliography:
"Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art and Artists" by Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, New York, 1990.
"20th Century American Folk, Self Taught, and Outsider Art" by Betty-Carol Sellen, Cynthia J. Johnson, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York, 1993.
"Contemporary American Folk Art - A Collector's Guide" Chuck and Jan Rosenak, Abbeville Press, 1996.
"Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" by Lynda Hartigan (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum), 1999.
"Self Taught, Outsider, and Folk Art—A guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen with Cynthia J. Johnson, 2000.
"American Self-Taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th Century Artists and Trends with 1,319 Capsule Biographies" by Florence Laffal and Julius Laffal, 2003.
Slotin Folk Art Auction Catalog, Masterpiece Sale, November 4, 2006
"Contemporary Folk Art: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" by Tom Patterson, Watson-Guptill Publications/New York, 2001.
"Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations Coast to Coast Travel-o-Pedia" by Randy Mason, et. al., Kansas City Star Books, 2009. |
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