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Deborah Johnson

Artist / Designer / Educator/ Wannabe Astronaut 👩🏻‍🚀

Deborah Johnson, also known as CandyStations, is a multimedia artist, designer, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. She specializes in creating visual experiences for stage and screen, combining sound, light, and movement to craft immersive environments.12

Johnson has collaborated with numerous renowned artists, including Sufjan Stevens, Sofi Tukker, M83, St. Vincent, and Wilco. Her work has been featured at prestigious venues such as Coachella, Disney Concert Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Museum of Modern Art.12

As a Visual Artist and Projection Designer at BETH MORRISON PROJECTS, INC., Johnson is currently working on a 75-minute opera based on Hildegard von Bingen by Sarah Kirkland Snider. This project incorporates depth-camera technology and custom, kinetic lighting for interactive shadow-play and choreographed imagery.1

Johnson's approach combines analog and digital techniques, merging handmade textures with motion tracking, real-time responsive visuals, and experimental projection mapping. She is known for pushing the boundaries of live performance through emerging technologies like AI and interactive media.2

In addition to her artistic work, Johnson is a Professor at The Pratt Institute, where she teaches about Time and Movement and Light, Color, and Design.13

Highlights

Jul 30 · linkedin

“Psyche” in time and design.

Here, the Kodak Muses return to their celestial mother source after their journey throughout the narrative, from birth to the horrors of World War I.

The projections were mapped to the architecture of the Eastman Theatre — paying further homage to its founder and legacy.  . . . . #contemporaryclassical #composer #contemporarycomposer #femalecomposer #womencomposers #orchestra #orchestralmusic #multimedia #multimediaorchestra #composerlife #womeninmusic #videoart #video #composersofinstagram #femaleartist #womenartists #musiccomposition #newmusic #rochesterphilharmonic #kodakgirls #georgeeastman #kodak #deborahjohnson #sarahkirklandsnider #eyeofmnemosyne #visuallibretto #livevisuals #performancedesign #touchdesigner #c4dart

Jul 30 · linkedin

Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider and I recently premiered EYE OF MNEMOSYNE, a 23’, seven-movement multimedia orchestral work commissioned by the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for its centennial season. The piece presents memory embodied as a deity while illuminating the influence of George Eastman’s Kodak through a lens of nostalgia.

The Kodak Girls — the independent, stylish, and sophisticated women conceived to evolve with and proliferate Eastman’s cameras — are presented as descendants of Mnemosyne, muses who influenced and inspired how Americans began to arrange, capture, and experience moments of their lives using the instrument of the camera and the power of the snapshot.

This visual and documentation are from the final movement, Psyche. Here, the Kodak Muses return to their celestial mother source after their journey throughout the narrative, from birth to the horrors of World War I.

The projections were mapped to the architecture of the Eastman Theatre — paying further homage to its founder and legacy.  . . . . #contemporaryclassical #composer #contemporarycomposer #femalecomposer #womencomposers #orchestra #orchestralmusic #multimedia #multimediaorchestra #composerlife #womeninmusic #videoart #video #composersofinstagram #femaleartist #womenartists #musiccomposition #newmusic #rochesterphilharmonic #kodakgirls #georgeeastman #kodak #deborahjohnson #sarahkirklandsnider #eyeofmnemosyne #visuallibretto #livevisuals #performancedesign #touchdesigner #c4dart

Related Questions

What inspired you to transition from traditional animation to live performance design?
How do you approach collaboration with musicians like Sufjan Stevens and St. Vincent?
What unique challenges did you face when working on the Hildegard von Bingen opera?
How do you incorporate technology like depth-camera technology into your projects?
What are some of your favorite projects you've worked on and why?
Deborah Johnson
Deborah Johnson, photo 1
Deborah Johnson, photo 2
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Location

Brooklyn, New York, United States