Projects > Curatorial Work III

Co-Curated with Patrick Flaherty.

Writes Johnson, "I once took a personality test that I felt was very accurate. It said that people with my specific personality type like to collect people and experiences. That’s what The Makeout Project is all about, my interactions with people and a shared experience between me and my subjects. Specifically, in The Makeout Project I put on lipstick and kiss people. Then I photograph them. The lipstick trace left on the lips of my subject is a recognizable index of an intimate and often passionate moment to which most viewers can easily relate. This lipstick trace also acts as a barrier between the viewer and the actual act of kissing. That is to say I never photograph the moment my subject and I kiss, only the moment after the kiss. The lipstick becomes the keyhole, giving the viewer a small sliver of the much larger narrative, leaving them to imagine what went on before the picture was taken."