An Artist on the Move

To keep up with Rindon Johnson '08, you have to move quickly.

On a given day, he might be in New York or Berlin, teaching at UCLA, or installing an art show in Spain, Switzerland, or Shanghai. As an artist who "makes whatever suits at the time," the mediums may change—but his work has "the slipperiness of language" at its heart.

Rindon's love of art and language can be traced back to his time at MA. "Marin Academy was very formative for me," he says, shouting out Visual Arts Department faculty Anne Maurice and Katharine Boyd as influential teachers during his high school years.

As an artist, Rindon works in mediums as disparate as cow leather, video games, and poetry, but he is always deeply observing the world around him. "Most of my work is interested in the ecological world—in particular, the climate crisis and how vast the climate crisis is—how it has permeated every part of our lives. And then, of course, that doubles over into capital accumulation and market and, in particular, value and how we make value out of things, which swings back into language. Calling something ends up giving it value," he says.

Rindon often works in collaboration with people whose technical expertise informs his work. In The Bells Pursuing One Another , an immersive video game, the player sees through the eyes of a whale, complete with the whale's natural center blindspot, which creates a fuzzy barrier. Sound becomes a crucial tool for the player, just as it is for real whales.

The player must navigate the unforgiving waters while attempting to hunt a giant squid.

While the natural world is regularly an influence, Rindon also creates work about the human-built world. He was with friend Trevor Cohen '08 looking up at the Transamerica Pyramid one day when Rindon, a transgender man, suddenly realized, "Whoa, that's the Transamerica building. I'm a trans American. That's the Transamerica building—that's mine!" From there, Rindon created a sculpture, a simplification of the Transamerica Pyramid itself, using old-growth redwood from the Bay Area to make the piece.

While Rindon's trans identity was a crucial part of that piece, he says it's not always front and center in his work. "It's similar to my race. It's similar to the weather. It's just the ambient stuff happening around. I can't deny it, but it's just there."

When Rindon sets a goal, odds are he'll achieve it. From publishing books to envisioning international art shows, he's a hands-on multi-hyphenate creator whose strong roots at Marin Academy have served him well in his fastpaced and multifaceted career. Rindon credits Marin Academy for the educational benefits of its signature block schedule and the depth of immersion in each course that it offers.

So where in the world can you find Rindon next? He doesn't stay in any one spot for too long "so I don't get bored," he says. His five-year-old daughter reaps the benefits of his love for adventure, too. It's safe to say no one is bored in that home, wherever that home is at the time.

Learn more about Rindon Johnson '08 and his work: rinjohnson.com