Taly and Russ Johnson
Encyclopedia
Taly and Russ Johnson are visual artists. Their work is a mixture of video, photography, collage and book art. Taly is a Film and TV graduate of New York University
, was born in Israel
and has directed and produced several short narrative films. Russ is a Detroit native and a Cooper Union
graduate. During his college years he worked as an assistant to video artist Ira Schneider
, painters Richard Hambleton
and Yvonne Jacquette
, and photographer Rudy Burckhardt
. Later he worked with the non-profit video art
organization Raindance Foundation
, curated the TV show "Night Light TV" and has been showing media art since 1984.
Taly and Russ met in New York in 1988 and worked together producing multi-media music shows with the performance group The Leisure Class. As a team, they continue to produce collage, video art, photography and artist books. They married in May 1992.
Their videos have been shown in festivals and galleries in New York
; Linz
, Austria
; Novi Sad
, Yugoslavia
; Tel Aviv
, Israel, as well as McMurdo Station
in Antarctica
"We strive to capture, share and expose the unseen and overlooked, to find joy in the banal. With video we can discover a point in the pointlessness of everyday life." Taly has said.
The pair is best known for their brief abstract videos including the ghostly tribute to Nam June Paik
"Nam June Paik's Fingerprints" that was finished on the eve of Paik’s death and presented in the Vienna Short Film Festival
as an installation in 2006.
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, was born in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and has directed and produced several short narrative films. Russ is a Detroit native and a Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
graduate. During his college years he worked as an assistant to video artist Ira Schneider
Ira Schneider
Ira Schneider is a video artist. He was born in New York, NY in 1939, graduated from Brown University as Bachelor of Arts in 1960 and from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Psychology as Magister of Arts in 1964. He has been living and working in Berlin since 1993.-Career:He started shooting...
, painters Richard Hambleton
Richard Hambleton
Richard Hambleton is an artist-painter currently living and working in the Lower East Side of New York City. Richard Hambleton has been called the godfather of street art. He is the surviving member of a group who, together with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, had great success coming out...
and Yvonne Jacquette
Yvonne Jacquette
Yvonne Jacquette , is an American painter and printmaker known in particular for her depictions of aerial landscapes, especially her low-altitude and oblique aerial views of cities or towns, often painted using a distinctive, pointillistic technique.-Life:She grew up in Stamford, Connecticut.She...
, and photographer Rudy Burckhardt
Rudy Burckhardt
Rudy Burckhardt was an Swiss-American filmmaker, and photographer, known for his photographs of hand-painted billboards which began to dominate the American landscape in the nineteen-forties and fifties.-Life:...
. Later he worked with the non-profit video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
organization Raindance Foundation
Raindance Foundation
Raindance Foundation was begun in 1969 by Frank Gillette, Michael Shamberg, Ira Schneider and Paul Ryan among others. Raindance was a self-described "countercultural think-tank" that embraced video as an alternative form of cultural communication....
, curated the TV show "Night Light TV" and has been showing media art since 1984.
Taly and Russ met in New York in 1988 and worked together producing multi-media music shows with the performance group The Leisure Class. As a team, they continue to produce collage, video art, photography and artist books. They married in May 1992.
Their videos have been shown in festivals and galleries in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
; Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
; Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
; Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel, as well as McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
in Antarctica
"We strive to capture, share and expose the unseen and overlooked, to find joy in the banal. With video we can discover a point in the pointlessness of everyday life." Taly has said.
The pair is best known for their brief abstract videos including the ghostly tribute to Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
"Nam June Paik's Fingerprints" that was finished on the eve of Paik’s death and presented in the Vienna Short Film Festival
Vienna Independent Shorts
Vienna Independent Shorts is an international short film festival held annually in May in Vienna. It is the largest short film festival in Austria.- History :...
as an installation in 2006.
Some video pieces
- Side Effects – strange montage of TV drug ads
- Nam June Paik's Fingerprints - A portrait of the artist Nam June PaikNam June PaikNam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
- Surveillance - exploring surveillance footage
- Nine Brief Pieces - strange avant-garde mini videos
- Stream - stream of consciousness video poem.
- Theme Park Fun - experimental exploring sadness found in theme parks.
- The Rutles, together again – music video starring Neil InnesNeil InnesNeil James Innes is an English writer and performer of comic songs, best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python, and for playing in the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and later The Rutles.-Personal life:...
- After - a small girl's memories during the weeks following 9-11, 2001
- WarthogWarthogThe Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P...
– tribute to punk rock pioneer Dee Dee RamoneDee Dee RamoneDee Dee Ramone was an American songwriter and musician, best known as founding member, bassist and main songwriter of the punk rock band the Ramones.... - Joey RamoneJoey RamoneJoey Ramone was an American vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.-Early life:Joey Ramone was born Jeffry Hyman to parents Noel and Charlotte Hyman...
and the Resistance “Cencorshit” Music video - Nixon In 88! – spoof ad presented as part of Hunter S. ThompsonHunter S. ThompsonHunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
’s election lecture. - Rob Rodriguez: SKATESTYLE – profile of The New York skateboarder.
- Heavy Metal Laser Meta Spectacle – Free form abstractions intercut with teen agers talking (with painter Jason FoxJason FoxJason Fox is an American football offensive left tackle from the University of Miami football team selected by the Detroit Lions as the 30th pick in the 4th round of the 2010 NFL Draft...
)