Spiritual Journeying: The Art of Tim Johnson

Publication details

Paperback. Height by width: 29 cm x 23.5 x 2.5 cm
Preface x-xii, Introduction xiii-xvii, 361 pages. (361 + 3 + 5 = 369 pages in total)
No. image plates: 177 illustrations (colour)
ISBN 9781925984033
ISBN10 1925984036
https://scholarly.info/book/spiritual-journeying-the-art-of-tim-johnson/

Author and/or Editor name/s

Donna Leslie

Author and/or Editor bio/s

Dr Donna Leslie is an Associate Professor and art historian at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Brisbane, who specialises in Aboriginal and Australian Art. Donna’s doctorate in Art History at the University of Melbourne was awarded in 2004. She is also an Aboriginal artist belonging to the Gamilaroi people of northern New South Wales; a painter and children’s book illustrator, inspired by nature and storytelling. She is the author of Aboriginal Art: Creativity and Assimilation (Macmillan Art Publishing, 2008). Her research interests include themes relating to art, culture and spirituality.

Year of publication

2019

Publisher

Australian Scholarly Publishing. North Melbourne, Victoria

Abstract

As a young Australian artist, Tim Johnson sought to look beyond the world he knew and was familiar with into mysteries that naturally come with things foreign. He wanted to explore what it was like to exist beyond the margins of his known world and to reach into alternative spaces that interested him. This book documents his spiritual journeying and creative explorations. In 1980, Johnson’s encounter with Aboriginal artists in the deserts of central Australia revolutionised his entire approach to art and life. In 1982, when he learned of the existence of the ancient medieval Buddhist cave temples of Mogao at Dunhuang in Western China, the experience also set his imagination aflame. The caves were an inspirational oasis of spirituality on the Silk Road and another powerful artistic expression in desert country. These two spiritual and artistic traditions inspired the path Johnson was to take over the next four decades. Over time his work expanded to include references to Japanese, Tibetan, Native American and a range of other sources and influences. Today, as a veteran artist, he has created an imagined universe abundantly informed by influences and ideas.