A puppet-protagonist performs her sensuality for the camera as she confronts the persistent disappointment and humor of a body approaching middle age. A motel room’s interior trappings become her staging grounds in a rehearsal for being desired.
Designed and produced by Johanna Winters
Cinematography by Auden Lincoln-Vogel
Production assistance from Jessie Kraemer
HOWW TO WAYT, two channel video with sound, 8:12 duration, 2023
HOWW TO WAYT (still image), two channel video with sound, 8:21 duration, 2023
HOWW TO WAYT (still image), two channel video with sound, 8:21 duration, 2023
HOWW TO WAYT (still image), two channel video with sound, 8:21 duration, 2023
HOWW TO WAYT (still image), two channel video with sound, 8:21 duration, 2023
HOWW TO WAYT (still image), two channel video with sound, 8:21 duration, 2023
HOWW TO WAYT (still image), two channel video with sound, 8:21 duration, 2023
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS is comprised of videos, sculptural props, and works on paper that extend the narrative of a puppet-protagonist who performs her desire for the camera. In a two-channel video projection at the center of the work, the protagonist anxiously readies for a possible encounter with an imagined romantic interest. Subtitles, written in an invented middle-language, accompany the videos to suggest internal narration or a second voice offering directives. The protagonist confronts the persistent longing and disappointment of a body approaching middle age while stubbornly seeking hopefulness. The sparse bedroom and wooded terrain become the protagonist’s staging grounds in a rehearsal for being desired.
Designed and produced by Johanna Winters
Cinematography by Grace Powell
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS (still image), two channel video with sound, 2022
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS (still image), two channel video with sound, 2022
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS (still image), two channel video with sound, 2022
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS (TOLLERAYT), video with sound, 2022
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS (PRAKTISS), video with sound, 2022
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS, installation view, 2022
Documentation by EG Schempf
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS, installation view, 2022
Documentation by EG Schempf
EN CAYSS UV ROMANSS, installation view, 2022
Documentation by EG Schempf
SEEKUR (TOLLERAYT), collagraph with chine collé, 2022
SEEKUR (REDDYING), collagraph with chine collé, 2022
SEEKUR (PRAKTISS), collagraph with chine collé, 2022
RINGURR is an ongoing video series extending from the project HOWW TO BEHAAYV. In this work I manifest as the puppet-protagonist’s embodied chaperone, adorned in papier-maché costuming and appendages. She navigates her environs devoid of human presence (empty garden fountains, empty bathtubs, empty rooms), yet she is titillated by the possibility of being witnessed. Her bumbling and muted disposition cajoles onlookers into a (pitying?) response that perhaps offers up the validation she seeks.
RINGURR (FOWNT), still image from video, 2021
RINGURR (TOWUR), still image from video, 2021
RINGURR (TUBB), still image from video, 2021
RINGURR, video reel, 00:05:52, 2021
HOWW TO BEHAAYV considers the condition of a reticent protagonist in her middle years who is both suspicious of and excited by the possibility of being witnessed. Through video, performance, props, and sculpture, this character engages in private actions as a form of protection against self-pity, including a choreographed dance performed alongside invented companions. We glimpse the protagonist as she lingers between the painful awareness of her solitude and the pretend validation of her audience.
HOWW TO BEHAAYV, video reel, 00:05:21, 2021
HOWW TO BEHAAYV, installation view (front), 2021
GARTUURS, papier-mâché, acrylic, elastic, 12 x 8 x 5” each, 2021
HARNISS 1 & 2, papier-mâché, 28 x 15 x 8” each, 2021
HARNISS 1 & 2 (side view), papier-mâché, 28 x 15 x 8” each, 2021
SEET 1 & 2, papier-mâché, 30 x 15 x 15” each, 2021
LIMMS (RUNNUR), papier-mâché, 32 x 5 x 12” each, 2021
ANKUL BOOTIES, papier-mâché, repurposed shoes, 5 x 3 x 10” each, 2021
CEREYAAL, papier-mâché, polymer clay, acrylic, dimensions variable, 2021
PINSHER (detail), papier-mâché, 12 x 8 x 5”, 2021
HOWW TO BEHAAYV (PEDICYUUR), installation view of video projection, 4 x 4’, 2021
HOWW TO BEHAAYV, installation view (rear), 2021
HOWW TO BEHAAYV (detail), dimensions variable, 2021
A pair of sisters perform for the camera, circa 1992.
Made using footage sourced from the Winters family archive.
Opposite Ranch, video, 00:03:39, 2020
FRENND WINNUR is an ongoing project that uses sculptural puppet-figure forms, video, and photographs to explore the particular condition of a solitary protagonist who is both suspicious of / and excited by the possibility of being witnessed.
FRENND WINNUR (PRAIRIE), still image from ongoing performance and video series, dimensions variable, 2020
Photographed on land originally inhabited by the Kaw, Osage, Wichita, and Pawnee Nations.
FRENND WINNUR (ACRE), still image from ongoing performance and video series, dimensions variable, 2019
Photographed on land originally inhabited by the Sioux, Ioway, Sauk and Ho-Chunk Nations. Photography by Levi Shand.
FRENND WINNUR (ACRE), still image from ongoing performance and video series, dimensions variable, 2019
Photographed on land originally inhabited by the Sioux, Ioway, Sauk and Ho-Chunk Nations. Photography by Levi Shand.
FRENND WINNUR (PULL-UP), still image from ongoing performance and video series, dimensions variable, 2019
FRENND WINNUR (PULL-UP), still image from ongoing performance and video series, dimensions variable, 2019
FRENND WINNUR, puppet’s view, dimensions variable, 2019
FRENND WINNUR, puppet’s view, dimensions variable, 2019
FRENND WINNUR, puppet’s view, dimensions variable, 2019
ENDLNG is a puppet-figure performance, installation, and sound piece that proposes a narrative in which female desire and agency demand to be witnessed. Our protagonist confronts her burdensome longing and disappointment through a merging of puppetry, gesture, language, and ritual. Bolstered by her puppeteer minders as she resists a deteriorating condition, the ENDLNG reclaims the fear of being alone through an account of what it means to be loved and be seen.
Designed and produced by Johanna Winters. Puppeteering by Johanna Winters, Alex Olson, Katie Foster, Lexi Balaun, and Stevie Delgado. Narration by Rachel Sandle. Directorial assistance by Amanda Pintore. Sound design by Braden Young. Videography by Marlo Angell. Photography by Aaron Paden.
ENDLNG, papier-mâché, wood, wire, acrylic, polyester, 36 x 6 x 8” 2019
TOOTH LOJIKK, monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 24 x 22”, 2019
NARROWE WITNISS, monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 24 x 22”, 2019
UGHLY SWMMNG, monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 24 x 22”, 2019
AY SCOLDNG, monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 24 x 22”, 2019
MOWTH KYURRS, monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 24 x 22”, 2019
ENDLNG (detail), puppet-figure performance, 00:25:00, 2019
ENDLNG (detail), puppet-figure performance, 00:25:00, 2019
ENDLNG (detail), puppet-figure performance, 00:25:00, 2019
ENDLNG (detail), puppet-figure performance, 00:25:00, 2019
Documentation from ENDLNG, puppet-figure performance, 2019
Narrow Witness is a puppet-figure performance and sound piece that challenges notions of conventional storytelling through a merging of puppetry, gesture, language, and ritual. Using marionettes, shadow puppets, human breath, and overhead projectors, this work questions the desire to be seen while declaring the bold validation of witnessing one another.
Produced by Johanna Winters and Benjamin Wills. Puppeteering by Johanna Winters, Ben Wills, Melissa McGrath, Alicia Kelly, Alex Olsen, Anne Luben, Stevie Delgado, and Alexis Balaun. Sound design by Braden Young. Video documentation by Lost Thought Productions.
Witnesses, papier-mâché, wood, wire, acrylic, 36 x 5 x 5”, 2018
Documentation from Narrow Witness, puppet-figure performance, 00:13:00, 2018
The Middle Tell is a shadow-puppet performance, video projection, and sound piece that chronicles a trio of female bards as they reluctantly surrender to a deteriorating condition. These middle women reveal their story through a muted language of hinging limbs and dousing light. Suspended in a time that is both passing and returning, the middle women hover in a state of hesitation between undoing their youth and summoning the process of aging. They linger in this half-space, and by confronting their fate to be rendered invisible and obsolete, they find relief.
Designed and produced by Johanna Winters
Puppeteering by Johanna Winters, Grant Barbour, Lauren Sanders, and Cora Lay
Sound design by David Frank
Documentation by Chris Spurgin.
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 25 min, 2018
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 25 min, 2018
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 25 min, 2018
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 00:25:00, 2018
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 00:25:00, 2018
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 00:25:00, 2018
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 00:25:00, 2018
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 00:25:00, 2018
The Middle Tell (detail), shadow puppet performance, 00:25:00, 2018
Documentation from The Middle Tell, shadow puppet performance, 2018
Avulsion Afloat: Your Caretaker Will Do What Is Best For You emerged from a mishap with a sharp kitchen knife and the tip of my thumb while in residence at the Vermont Studio Center in July 2018. Using found language (from medical instructions detailing how to care for a sliced digit), marionettes, spoken voice, and bottle-breathing, fellow VSC artist Rachel Schenberg and I developed a short puppet-figure performance that was performed in the upstairs of a resident house on the VSC campus. Channeling the thick humid energy of the heat wave bearing down on northern Vermont, we composed a loose narrative about finding relief in the burdensome night heat.
Designed and produced by Johanna Winters and Rachel Schenberg. Puppeteering by Johanna Winters and Rachel Schenberg. Bottle breathing by Lauren Francescone and Sarah Minor. Photography by Gordon Stillman.
Avulsion Afloat: Your Caretaker Will Do What Is Best For You (detail), puppet-figure performance with Rachel Schenberg, 00:06:00, 2018
Avulsion Afloat: Your Caretaker Will Do What Is Best For You (detail), puppet-figure performance with Rachel Schenberg, 00:06:00, 2018
Avulsion Afloat: Your Caretaker Will Do What Is Best For You (detail), puppet-figure performance with Rachel Schenberg, 00:06:00, 2018
Avulsion Afloat: Your Caretaker Will Do What Is Best For You (detail), puppet-figure performance with Rachel Schenberg, 00:06:00, 2018
Avulsion Afloat: Your Caretaker Will Do What Is Best For You (detail), puppet-figure performance with Rachel Schenberg, 00:06:00, 2018
Avulsion Afloat: Your Caretaker Will Do What Is Best For You (detail), puppet-figure performance with Rachel Schenberg, 00:06:00, 2018
Dowagers is a puppet-figure performance inspired by the Maysles brothers’ 1975 documentary Grey Gardens that considers anxieties about leading an insignificant life. A pair of oversized, puppet-headed puppeteers and their döppelganger marionettes – all well past their first blush of youth – engage in a cyclical pâté-eating routine. While sharing a strange companionship, the Dowagers manage to experience delight despite their absurd condition.
Designed and produced by Johanna Winters. Puppeteering by Johanna Winters and MaryAnne Carey.
Dowagers (detail), puppet-figure performance, 01:30:00, 2016-17
Dowagers (detail), puppet-figure performance, 01:30:00, 2016-17
Dowagers (detail), puppet-figure performance, 01:30:00, 2016-17
Dowagers (detail), puppet-figure performance, 01:30:00, 2016-17
Dowagers (detail), puppet-figure performance, 01:30:00, 2016-17
Dowagers (detail), puppet-figure performance, 01:30:00, 2016-17
Dowagers (detail), puppet-figure performance, 01:30:00, 2016-17
Dowagers, documentation from puppet-figure performance, 01:30:00, 2016-17
HÄXAN is a live shadow puppet performance by Grant Barbour and Johanna Winters that reimagines myths about witch trials and religious extremism in the 16th and 17th centuries in Germany, France and colonial America. Using vintage overhead projectors, Barbour and Winters performed a series of shadow vignettes that portrayed mythical, carnal, and absurd relationships between the devil, the accuser, and the accused. This ill-fated cast of characters moan, wail, seduce, and suffer in a spectacle of cut paper and cast shadows that are at once devastating and beautiful.
Designed and produced by Johanna Winters and Grant Barbour. Puppeteering by Johanna Winters, Grant Barbour, Tom Wixo, and Cora Lay.
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN (detail), collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
HÄXAN, documentation from collaborative shadow puppet performance with Grant Barbour, 00:20:00, 2017
What The Pleasures Told Us is an ongoing series of prints, drawings, and animations that forewarn of a time that is passing and returning in-between disappointment and pleasure. The characters in this work hesitate in a half-space, but also find reprieve from exactitude.
Middle Bargain, monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 24 x 22“, 2018
Half-burden, monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 24 x 22”, 2018
What the Pleasures Told Us (Stagger), monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 22 x 24”, 2017
What The Pleasures Told Us (Wail), monotype with drawing and chine-collé, 24 x 24”, 2017
How to avoid disappointment in the morning, intaglio with screenprint and drawing, 7 x 6”, 2018
Dread / Fool No. 5, intaglio with drawing, 5 x 5”, 2018
Dread / Fool No. 6, intaglio with drawing, 5 x 5”, 2018
What The Pleasures Told Us, shadow puppet animation, 00:02:50, 2017
Tooth Hymnal, stop-motion animation, 00:00:50, 2017
Early iterations of puppet masks and two-dimensional hinged forms that informed later performances and animations.
Dunderhead No. 4, masking tape, wire, acrylic, 2 x 1 x 1’, 2015
Dunderhead No. 1, masking tape, wire, acrylic, 2 x 1 x 1’, 2015
Dunderhead No. 2, masking tape, wire, acrylic, 2 x 1 x 1’, 2015
Dunderhead No. 3, masking tape, wire, acrylic, 2 x 1 x 1’, 2015
Dunderhead No. 5, masking tape, wire, acrylic, 2 x 1 x 1’, 2015
The Gomers, acrylic on chip board, 2 x 4’, 2015
The Yam Men, acrylic on chip board, 2 x 4’, 2015
Bad Mitten is a collaborative mock-competitive performance, played with MaryAnne Carey, that explores ideas of competition, redemption, humor, and shame. The puppet headed figures engage in a durational game of tetherball, punctuated by a baptismal-like ritual whenever a point is scored. Once the baptism is complete, the score is reset and the game resumes.
Designed and produced by Johanna Winters and MaryAnne Carey.
Bad Mitten (detail), collaborative performance with MaryAnne Carey, Knoxville, TN, 2016
Bad Mitten (detail), collaborative performance with MaryAnne Carey, Knoxville, TN, 2016
Bad Mitten (detail), collaborative performance with MaryAnne Carey, Knoxville, TN, 2016
Bad Mitten (detail), collaborative performance with MaryAnne Carey, Knoxville, TN, 2016
Bad Mitten (detail), collaborative performance with MaryAnne Carey, Knoxville, TN, 2016
Bad Mitten (detail), collaborative performance with MaryAnne Carey, Knoxville, TN, 2016
