The Story Behind Crystal Kinetic Art

Jeff Johnson is a self-taught artist. He possesses deep seated conservative biblical convictions.

Jeff has experimented in many forms of art which include glass, acrylic, plastic, veneer, clay, Plexiglas, and metal, to name a few.

Kinetic art is art that moves, such as a mobile. In February 1986, at the age of 28, Jeff began to paint pictures that cause the viewer to move, hence the name “reverse” kinetic art.

Jeff has a variety of talents and artistic skills as well as a wealth of experience to call upon each time he creates an original work of art. His intriguing use of colors and geometric designs gives him the ability to incorporate all of these into the multiple views, which is a central part of kinetic art. Jeff says kinetic art is the only medium he has found thus far which allows him to express his thoughts and feelings while at the same time capture certain visual experiences surpassing the normal interpretation of a given scene.

In 1991, while visiting an amusement park with an aquarium that had a large column of water filled with fish, Jeff noticed how the people who walked around the tank became distorted and how the light refracted in the tank. This is when the conscious inspiration resulting in “Crystal Kinetic” art was born.

While working another year doing his original form of kinetic art, the kind that only changed twice, Jeff never let the thoughts and ideas that he had received in front of the round fish tank slip from his mind. One day, while in a mall, Jeff stopped by a glass blower’s shop and noticed a few glass rods setting on the table. This is when the round fish tank came back to the forefront of his mind. He purchased one of the glass rods and began experimenting with different colors of ink. His original theories from a year earlier were confirmed.

The next morning Jeff went back to the glass blower’s shop and purchased 50 more glass rods. Thinking of the possibilities of art work that could change three, even four times, excited his mind. A week later he had produced his first original Crystal Kinetic work of art which sold a week later.