The public is invited to attend a talk by visiting artist Johnnie Chatman at the Grinnell College Museum of Art on Monday, February 16 at 4 p.m. Chatman will discuss his work included in the exhibition Rhizomatic Intimacies: Photography From the Collection of Keith Jantzen ’80 and Scott Beth. The talk is co-sponsored by the Grinnell College Department of Art History.
In the ongoing series I forgot where we were…., Chatman photographs himself in sites in the American West that have become tourist attractions. He explores the concept of presence — in his case, Black presence — in such sites, the history and folklore of which often accumulate from the people who visit them rather than from those who knew them first. He situates himself distinctively, yet diminutively, in the landscape, underscoring how easy it can be, in the scope of grandeur, to overlook or erase one person or one history for another.
Johnnie Chatman is an artist, researcher, and educator in Southern California. He is currently a Katzin Fellow and doctoral candidate in Art History, Theory, and Criticism with an emphasis on Art Practice at the University of California, San Diego. His research explores and interweaves American history, visual culture, the history of photography, and theories of landscape/space. His research and artistic practice interconnect by analyzing the American West as a geographical, cultural, and economic crossroads defined by complex connectivity.
Chatman’s work has been featured in exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Fraenkel Gallery, and SF Camerawork. His work can be found in many museum collections, such as the Center for Creative Photography, Figge Art Museum, Grinnell College Museum of Art, Harvard Art Museums, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In 2020, he was a recipient of the En Foco Photography Fellowship. He is also the founder and curator of Terms & Conditions, an experimental film screening series.
Curated by 12 Grinnell College students in Art History Professor Michael Mackenzie’s exhibition seminar, Rhizomatic Intimacies explores the theme of intimacy through the concept of rhizomes. In the plant world, rhizomes are horizontal root systems capable of producing the shoot and root systems of a new plant. Applied to photography, rhizomes are a metaphor for personal connections tying humans to artworks. The exhibition will continue through March 29, 2026.
Student curators Princess Alexander, Ella Barnett, Kiele Calhoun, Sabina Clingerman, Colleen (Aubrie) Connell, Vivian Finch, Amy Kan, Sugi Lucas, Monica Park, Dorothea Qin, Kate Walker-Spencer, and Neva Zamil selected the works included in the exhibition from the photography collection of Keith Jantzen ’80 and Scott Beth. The students wrote the exhibition didactic material and essays for the accompanying catalogue with guidance from Professor Mackenzie.
Keith Jantzen ’80 and Scott Beth have been collecting art together—paintings, prints, ceramics, and photography—for more than four decades. They have donated many works of art (including nine photographs by Johnnie Chatman) to Grinnell College. They have also supported other programs of the College, especially Environmental Studies.
Also check out other Arts events in Grinnell, Exhibitions in Grinnell, Workshops in Grinnell.
