20/20 Vision, Second Edition

The Art of Contemporary University Printmaking

Sarojini Jha Johnson

My family came to the United States from India many years ago. My prints reflect my preoccupation with my knowledge of India as I have experienced it through my journeys there and through stories told by my parents. Certain objects and images are persistent in my mind and are emblematic or evocative of many things, from mundane to sublime.   Some of these objects are plants such as datura and images of favorite deities such as Ganesha and Lakshmi. Uprooted people often experience a longing for things that remind them of their former home. This sort of nostalgia or yearning for familiar things, especially food, has been a part of my family’s experience for as long as I can remember.  My octogenarian father grows exotic vegetables with names I do not even know in English. This amuses and amazes me. I believe that the dialog about culture and nationality is vital and that the visual arts are an important forum for communication of the subtleties and variations of individual viewpoints.