BBoy Monsters: Xcel

02/01/2020

When I started dancing in back in 2001, Xcel (as in to accelerate – not the spreadsheet) was one of the top guys in the Boston scene where I came up. He was also one of the earliest supporters of our suburban breaking crew. I even quoted him in my high school yearbook!! When my crew was organizing one of our earliest events, some crews were hesitant about going up against some of the more experienced cats. Xcel replied “If you have skills, no one can ever take them from you.” That was something that really stuck with me throughout …

World of One: School of Cambridge

05/23/2013

School of Cambridge (from the series World of One) 2013 Archival Pigment Print from 35mm Negatives 24″ x 38 7/8″ inches | edition of 5 This was the most straightforward and yet most labor-intensive World of One image I have produced thus far. There are 91 frames collaged into School of Cambridge (112 before the edits), which is roughly 3 times the number of frames that have gone into any of the other works in this series. This was shot at MIT behind the Strata Center where they have this cool outdoor seating area. I’ve wanted to do a …

Kung Fu Master: Zhou Xuan Yun

04/30/2013

Zhou Xuan Yun, Daoist Sword (from the series Kung Fu Masters) Zhou Xuan Yun, Daoist Sword White (from the series Kung Fu Masters) Sifu Zhou Xuan Yun is a Master of Wudong-style (more commonly spelled Wu-Tang-style) martial arts. He grew up on Wudong Mountain, where he trained in Chinese martial arts since the early age of 10. At age 20, he left Wudong Mountain to wander as a monk for 4 years and to seek out a dialogue with other martial artists. In short, this guy (who resembles a bad guy from a Tony Jaa movie) has the classic …

On Narcissus

01/31/2013

Narcissus (from the series World of One) As the name implies, this piece was inspired by the story of Narcissus from Greek myth. In summation, Narcissus was a hunter who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. He then died of starvation, as he refused to take his eyes off himself. This is essentially meant to be a cautionary tale: Basically, don’t be too much of a douche. I feel as if we now live in a hyper-narcissistic society. Social media has enabled us all to live in our own digital “World of One”s. Whenever …

BBoy Monster: El Nino

01/09/2013

BBoy Monster: El Nino, Vitruvian BBoy Happy new year everyone! Trying set this year off right, today I unveil my latest creation. Behold! The BBoy Monster: El Nino!!! If you’re a bboy, this guy needs no introduction. If you’re a bboy and you’ve never heard of him, then you’re doin’ it wrong! El Nino has been a dominating figure in the bboy scene for over a decade…which is ridiculous when you consider the fact that he’s barely old enough to drink! It’s pretty difficult to overstate his bboy credentials. At age 11 he teamed up with Kmel of the legendary …

World of One: Hide and Seek

10/19/2012

Hide and Seek (from the series World of One) 2012 Archival Pigment Print from 35mm Chrome 24″ x 41 1/4″ inches | edition of 5 This is easily the most expensive photograph I have ever taken. Shot on 35mm Fujichrome color reversal film (which shoots positive, rather than negative images for those who are not in the know) at the Christian Science Center in Boston, with the assistance of my brother. I was originally hoping that the leaves on the trees would have more red in them by now, but I got spots of yellow here and there instead. …

World of One: Curious Boredom

10/12/2012

2012 Archival Pigment Print from 35mm Negatives 24″ x 40 1/4″ inches | edition of 5 After the success of “Yin Yang Whisper,” I started to think deeper about the direction I want to take this body of work. When I started making these all I was really concerned about was trying to arrange the figures in an interesting way. As of late however, I have been playing with some ideas about how the two sides interact, and using that relationship to imply a narrative. The next images in this series will explore the paradoxical relationship between contrasting emotions. …

World of One: Yin Yang Whisper

09/23/2012

Yin Yang Whisper (from the series World of One) 2012 Archival Pigment Print from 35mm Negatives 24″ x 41 1/8″ inches | edition of 5 + 1 AP Ladies and gentleman, allow me to present the next installment in the “World of One” series: The “Yin Yang Whisper.” As I walk pass this building on my way to practice everyday, I always think to myself “wow that looks really cool maybe I should take a picture.” Then I never do. Finally, I got my shit together and made it happen. Whenever I’m trying to come up with a new idea …

World of One: Narcissus

09/20/2012

Narcissus (from the series World of One) 2012 Archival Pigment Print from 35mm Negatives 24″ x 44 5/16″ inches | edition of 5 It felt like I was going to die if I didn’t make this picture. The idea of it kept calling to me from the back of my mind. As with “Reflection” this was shot using film, and then scanned and manipulated in photoshop after. Photographed at the reflection pool at the Christan Science Center in Boston. Concept was inspired by the story of “Narcissus” from greek mythology. Sign up for my Secret Society and never miss …

World of One: Reflection

09/02/2012

It feels like I’ve been waiting all summer to take this picture. Unlike the previous images in the world of one series, this was shot on 35mm kodak color film. Of course the film is scanned and manipulated digitally after. But actually shooting with film again, reminded me of how I’d completely forgotten the feeling of fear that came with it. The big difference is this, when you’re shooting with film, you’re bleeding money every time you press the button. I hear dollar signs in my head for each click of the shutter on my old Minolta. But film has …

Fine Art Photographs by Johnny Tang