New faculty feature - John David Graham

By Michael Robin

A siren call to create without limits pulled John David Graham through architecture—confined by physical limitations, clients and budgets—into fine art, a field for unfettered imagination.

“In art making, I discovered freedom I could not experience in practicing architecture,” said the assistant professor in printmaking and digital media. “Art making emphasizes process as much as product. Art making allows me to work with my hands in shaping ideas into form. Equally important, I can openly explore visual poetics, and mythological and symbolic storytelling.”

Graham grew up in Ottawa and Montreal. He completed his bachelor degree in environmental studies before earning a master’s degree in architecture, both at the University of Manitoba. He obtained a bachelor of fine arts from Concordia University in Montreal, then travelled to the University of Oregon for his MFA. He joined the U of S on a one-year term before joining the faculty full time in 2014.

“I have taught studio art in a variety of programs at universities and colleges in Canada, USA and Australia,” he said, explaining he was drawn to the Depart- ment of Art and Art History by its rich, pluralistic traditions.

In addition to mentoring students and his own creative work, Graham strives to address an underappreciated aspect of art: safety. He cites statistics that show artists lead shorter lives, in part due to toxic chemicals in their creative spaces such as paints and solvents.

“One colleague of mine died prematurely from cancer,” he explained, while pointing out a new isolation booth with a dedicated ventilation system he procured for the printmaking studio in the Murray Building.

Graham urges his students to think of safety protocols as part of their toolkit, as essential to their work as pigments, screens and brushes.

“Good artists play, and when you play, you forget—you don’t have rules,” he said. “Artists need to play, but they need to be safe. I feel very strongly about this. They need to take care of their health. Once that’s become second nature, then they can play.”

This article originally appeared in the New to US feature within the Sept. 11 edition of On Campus News

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