Muses and Mystery

10/13/2020

Ann is one of my closest friends in New York. Although she might look like a kpop star, she’s actually a doctor finishing her residency. So I basically never see her, because she’s usually too busy saving us from ourselves. So when she asked me to take her picture at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden last weekend, I jumped at the chance. It’s been awhile since I’ve shot any portraiture – surreal or otherwise. Because I started a new labor intensive project in July that I’ve been too busy procrastinating on. So I haven’t been shooting all that much, and when …

The World is Watching - One figure sitting on a wooden stool on the street, crowd of figures wearing N95 masks in white staring at the sitting figure in the reflection.

World of One: The World is Watching

07/09/2020

The World is Watching – Shot towards the end of May, about a week before NYC started to emerge from lockdown. This image is inspired by how I felt the world (particularly Asia) was watching the U.S during the beginning of the pandemic.

Seeing the Same but Different

03/30/2020

I was hanging out with a couple art friends one night last October, and I mentioned (as an aside to our conversation) that “I know a lot of doctors because you know, I’m Asian.” To which one of them replied “You’re talking to a couple Jews here Johnny.” It’s amazing how our perception of things changes with time. We can look at the exact same picture, and see and feel something completely different depending on our circumstances. When I initially finished Diligentia, I hated it. I felt like it lacked all the technical hallmarks that made a successful World of …

Door Gods

01/21/2020

When world champion bodybuilder Brian Hazel approached me about giving him the BBoy Monster-esqu treatment, I was hesitant at first. Until now, I had never attached limbs skin to skin before. In the case of the BBoy Monsters, I also do a lot of blending for the limbs by hiding boundaries within the folds of clothing. Initially I even turned him down, recommending him to a friend who specializes in photographing bodybuilders. But Brian assured me that it was my particular expertise and vision that he was after. So I reluctantly agreed. My original concept for this set of images, …

World of One: Death of Narcissus

10/08/2019

Death of Narcissus is a homage to Hippolyte Bayard’s Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man, one of my favorite early photographs (and one of the world’s first selfies!). While the technical setup for this image has been floating around in my head for years. It wasn’t until I saw this Vox video reminding me of Bayard’s picture, that the inspiration for the narrative came to me. Hippolyte Bayard is a pioneer and inventor of photography in who lived in 19th century France. But he was was overlooked by the French Academy of Sciences in favor of his rival Louis Daguerre, who …

BBoy Monster: Kilo

10/08/2019

Kilo and I used to hit the same practice spot until it got closed down. He’s always had an interesting and original style incorporating lots of flexible movements. In short, his style is perfect for the strengths of this series. Kilo was a dream to work with. He came with a bunch of ideas having been exposed to the work previously. The multiple heads/faces was actually his idea. He wanted them “like those Hindu sculptures” he said. I think one of the faces ones works much more seamlessly than others. But overall I’m content with how these came out. Another …

BGirl Monsters: Sunny

07/18/2018

BGirl Monsters: Sunny – Blind Style As of writing this, I’ve been watching Sunny dance (in awe) for about four years now. In that time I’ve seen her do things I’ve never seen any other dancer do – regardless of age or gender. Her style is powerful, technical, and very well executed. Don’t let her bubbly demeanor fool you, because she’ll smoke you on the dance floor and she’ll do it with a smile. It was a real honor getting the chance to shoot her for this project, even more so since she’s a fellow creative and an avid photographer …

Feeling Numb - A shirtless man standing in a snow storm surrounded by a group of men in black freezing their asses off.

World of One: Feeling Numb

05/15/2018

Feeling Numb 2018 Giclée Image size (HxW): 24” x 49 1/8” | Paper Size (HxW): 30” x 49 1/8” | Edn 5 I shot Feeling Numb on a suggestion from my old friend Lisa Diep. “I want one side that’s feeling! And the other side, that’s numbness!!!” She told me. Lisa’s and I have known each other since high school, so she occasionally likes to pretend she’s my art director. At first I thought this was another throw away idea. But the more I thought about it, the more appealing it seemed to me. The problem I told her, wasn’t …

Chasing Magritte - A man in white tossing a bowler hat into the air, a group of men in black jumping to grab the hat

World of One: Chasing Magritte

05/09/2018

Chasing Magritte 2018 Giclée Image size (HxW): 24″ x 47 5/8” | Paper Size (HxW): 30” x 53 5/8” | Edn 5 Chasing Magritte is about wanting to emulate your heroes, as well as my homage to the turn of the century Surrealist painter Rene Magritte. It’s probably no secret by now, but in case you didn’t know, that I’m a huge Magritte fan. Dali might be the poster boy for Surrealism, but there’s something about Magritte’s work that I’ve always been more drawn to. I don’t know if it’s his wit, or just because he’s more subtle. But there’s …

the Offering - a man in white seated at a park bench with an out stretched hand, a crowd of men in black walking by him refusing his hand.

World of One: the Offering

05/02/2018

the Offering 2018 Giclée Image size (HxW): 24” x 41 9/16” | Paper Size (HxW): 30” x 47 9/16” | Edn 5 The Offering is inspired and titled after a 2013 piece, by the Taiwanese American artist James Jean. Jean is one of the few Taiwanese American artists, visibly successful, working in the fine arts today. So he’s basically like my art hero, and his work just blows me away. I’ve often taken inspiration from his style of composition, use of color, and also the otherworldly themes present in his work. TheOffering is my homage to the man and his …

Fine Art Photographs by Johnny Tang