Lyric Johnson ’24 began creating art when they picked up photography in 2020 as a way to get outside during the pandemic. It began as “just a hobby.”
This pandemic pastime has blossomed into a broader passion for art, expanding to include drawing, photography, sculpture and other art forms at Brown.
Johnson said they have been interested in art since middle school but thought it felt tangential to their primary interests. “It just wasn't something that I saw as a skill that I should be encouraged to work on,” Johnson said. This changed when they came to Brown.
Johnson began to take drawing more seriously after they started taking VISA 0100: “Studio Foundation.” They have since been using the department’s resources to expand into other art forms and mediums.
Johnson said their concentration in biochemistry heavily influences their work and a lot of their artwork explores the human body and organic forms. While surrealism also appeals to them in their drawing practice, they’re currently working on exploring more photorealistic styles and hope to find a way to combine their personal art style with their goal of becoming a medical illustrator. To Johnson, art is a form of communication.
“Art is one of those things that transcends barriers of languages and cultures and all sorts of things and is an incredible medium to use for communication,” they said.
Johnson described their art as a very personal practice, adding that they make a lot of it just for themself. Their photography process begins on Pinterest with a mood board to solidify their concept and decide what kinds of shots they want. The shoot itself is a full-day process involving careful consideration of lighting, clothing, backdrop and posing. Afterward, they begin the editing process — their favorite part, they said, because they feel like they have the most creative liberty.
“I like an abstract look to my photos a lot of the time,” Johnson said. “I feel like in editing I’m able to ... highlight the pieces of the photo that I really like and make it a little otherworldly.”
Their drawing process involves coming up with a concept, occasionally creating a thumbnail — a miniature version of the drawing for planning purposes — and then working on the project whenever they can find the time. They said they approach photo editing and drawing with an openness to trying new things and without a rigid expectation for the final project, saying that their approach is to “just see what happens.”
On campus, Johnson is a freelance photographer. They do photography for student organizations such as Shades of Brown, as well as photoshoots with friends and occasional videography. They are also a content creator for the Black Star Journal, creating pieces that are then paired with the student work that gets published in the Journal.
Delena Alemayehu ’24, a close friend of Johnson’s, described Johnson’s work as focused on narrative, as well as feelings of joy and warmth.
“A lot of their work is intended for the sake of storytelling or underlying meaning outside of … what you see on the surface,” she said.
She added that she appreciates that Johnson prioritizes highlighting underrepresented groups in their work, noting that she finds it refreshing.
Alemayehu, who is a DJ, hopes to collaborate with Johnson because although they use different mediums, she thinks they like to express themselves through art in similar ways.
Leslie Walker ’26, Johnson’s friend and roommate, described Johnson’s art as expressive and authentic to who Johnson is. She said their work draws her into the piece and forces her to “take a step back and think about what it means.”
Walker is also a photographer and plans to collaborate with Johnson on a photo shoot with an eerie theme in October.
Another, longer-term project of Johnson’s is to create a piece centering lesbian sexuality explored through a collection of multimedia pieces. They hope that this piece will show off their skills across many media and the full range of their artistic abilities.
“I saw this art piece in New York over the summer that was centering queer men and queer sexuality and I want to do some similar work … with lesbianism,” they said.
Johnson added that they view this project as an opportunity for mixing media. “I'm ready to take my individual mediums and use them to contribute to another,” they said. “I have so much knowledge of each of them individually and I want to find a way to combine them. I think that would be the perfect project to do so.”
Kate Butts is a senior staff writer covering University Hall. Outside of The Herald, she loves running, board games and Trader Joe's snacks.
