The Art of Intuition

A face to face with...

Steven M. JOHNSON, Artist and inventor

Presented by Crossroads Cultural Center

Steven M. Johnson is an illustrator and futurist who draws pictures of imaginary inventions for the near future. Mr. Johnson has been drawing up his ideas since the early 1970s. He has published three books: What the World Needs Now, 1st ed. 1984, 2nd ed. 2001, 3rd ed. 2012; Public Therapy Buses, 1st ed. 1991, 2nd ed. 2013; and Have Fun Inventing, 2012. The primary focus of this talk will be on the second edition of his book of drawings, Public Therapy Buses. In 2009, Allison Arieff wrote in The New York Times: What fascinates me about Johnson is his ability to riff on anything, from a sort of frivolous contraption called a brief skate (yes, a briefcase that morphs into a skateboard, perfect for today’s unemployed boomers) to a wholly prescient formed concept like Oakville, a gasoline-and-diesel-engine free city that features a freeway for electric cars and bicycles, and a medieval-like perimeter wall that keeps polluting cars out. He can be so out there as to make one think he shouldn’t be taken seriously until you realize just how serious his thinking can be. In The Atlantic Online in 2010, Steven Heller wrote: Some of Johnson's fake inventions and "foolish" ideas became fads or products later on. "In 1975 I started predicting (in my drawings) that store-bought clothing would be sold pre-ripped; I was almost a decade ahead," he crows. "In 1991 I showed a drawing of a small, radio-controlled vacuum cleaner that could creep under furniture. It was about the size of the Roomba, which was offered a decade later. Mere entertainment is sometimes a vehicle for suggesting what is 'in the air.'" In this presentation, Mr. Johnson will show samples of his work, and discuss how he gets and develops his ideas. The event is open to the public and free of charge.

About this Event

Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Time: 7pm
Location: Crossroads Auditorium
125 Maiden Lane, 15th Floor, NY, NY
(ID required to enter the building)
map

About the Speaker

Steven M. Johnson
Artist and inventor

Invitation

Download the invitation here.

Related Articles

New York Times: "Searching for Value in Ludicrous Ideas" by Allison Arieff The Atlantic: "The Accidental Futurist: Steven M. Johnson's Alternate Realities" by Steven Heller

Video

Click here to watch the video.

Photos - click on image below