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The Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery at the Crawfordsville District Public Library would like to invite the public to view the work of Haitian-American artist, Johnson Simon. This exhibit is currently open and will be on display through mid-November. The public is welcome to visit the gallery during CDPL’s regular hours of operation. Several artworks are for sale (cash only) during the exhibition through the circulation department, including a limited amount books for children created as a companion to the documentary “The Best We’ve Got: The Carl Erskine Story” which won the Heartland International Film Festival’s Audience Choice award in 2022.
Simon moved to America with his family as a small child to seek better opportunities. Haiti did not have the means to provide adequate medical care for Simon’s cerebral palsy which he developed as a result of the umbilical cord wrapping around his neck during his birth. In Haiti he was not allowed to attend school even though he was highly intelligent because his community did not have the means to accommodate his physical needs. He prayed daily with his grandmother that he would one day attend school in America. His prays were answered but the path was difficult.
Simon completed his bachelor’s degree in fine arts at Western Michigan University and earned a master’s of fine arts from IUPUI. While he attended WMU, he began to explore the concept of movement by observing how we move when we walk, run and swim, as well as the force of skydiving. He even recorded his own movements and discovered his personal rhythm. This research inspired him to create dance-focused expressionistic painting and he has continued to express movement with bright colors and broad painterly brush strokes to transfer this feeling to canvas.
“As someone with a disability, movement impacts me on a daily basis,” Simon said. “My artwork is a way for me to express how I would move if I could do so freely and uninterrupted. On canvas I can run, walk, jump and dance without being bound by physical limitations. In my artistic work, I can move freely without limitations.”
Simon is a teaching artist for ArtMix, a service that bridges the gap between education and the arts for students with disabilities. Approximately 14% of Indiana residents live with some form of a disability, and many do not have access to art, music or physical education. The ArtMix program focuses on building vocational and collaborative skills while encouraging self-expression and socialization in their studios, schools and hospitals. It ensures the arts are accessible to artists of all ages and skills levels. Visit their website at artmixindiana.org for more details about their programs or to volunteer, or visit their gallery located at 1505 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis. Simon also regularly exhibits his work in Indianapolis. His work can be seen at the Butter Art Fair, Welcome Race Fans, The Harrison Center for the Arts and Newfield’s Museum of Art’s Galleries.
If you are interested in learning more about Simon’s work or to inquiry about commissioned work, visit his website at artbyjohnsonsimon.com. Be sure to watch the video on his website that explains how he became involved with the telling of Carl Erskine’s story and the excitement around meeting Erskine. Learn about The Erskine Impact by visiting the Special Olympics Indiana’s webpage at soindiana.org/erskine-impact.
For more information about upcoming events at CDPL, visit online at crawfordsvillelibrary.in.gov.
If you are an artist or a member of an artists’ group and are interested in displaying your work at the Mary Bishop Memorial Gallery in 2025 or 2026, contact the gallery coordinator at 765-362-2242.
