Niki Johnson’s ‘Capitol V’ Asserts—and Questions—Methods of Control

Those of us that did not have the foresight or good sense to leave Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention witnessed increased policing, city-wide closures, and motorcade traffic that bullied daily commuters away from downtown. Nevertheless, we rolled out the red carpet for the very group that loves to lie about election fraud, immigrants, and the dubious motivations behind their own attempted insurrection. 

Among the Republicans’ many weird qualities is their obsessive desire to control bodies they do not inhabit, imposing restrictions on abortion, sex work, gender-affirming care, birth control, and IVF. Republicans love to treat sex as a matter of public concern but do whatever they can to excise matters of choice, expression, consent, and pleasure from the larger equation. Artist Niki Johnson addresses this political dissonance in her solo show “Capitol V” at Var Gallery, which was exhibited during and following the RNC. 

For the past nine years, Johnson has been developing 56 images of U.S. capitol buildings against corresponding natural landscapes. Within each ovum-shaped frame, sepia-toned virgin scenery serves as the backdrop for the capitol building silhouettes. The architecture floats to cast shadows over shrubs, peaks, valleys, and still water. Each imposing structure is meticulously rendered in elegant Swarovski crystals of various size, densely packed together to create illusions of depth within wings and rotundas. The crystals remind us to consider vajazzling—a 2010s trend that involved decorating the bare pubis with elaborate rhinestone shapes and figures. 

Vajazzled?

If you don’t remember vajazzling, consider yourself spared. But alas, the political battle over bodies and sex hasn’t been quite so short lived. Johnson renders these buildings as sweeping masses that spread across horizons, holding their stately domes erect. In the very center at the bottom of the stairs, the crystals step up in size, swelling into a rounded drip of gemstones, like a chain of nerves that pinch into a delicate point. Prominent, but maybe easy to miss among the whole architecture. A clitoris. And Johnson has given one to every building, feminizing the capitols with this anatomic feature that anyone entering must trample over to access the hubs of power.

Accompanying the visual elements are several written placards that explain or complement the work. There is an abundance of word play in this series that is obvious in the text and the visuals. Virgin landscape, the birth of a nation, body politic, etc. This makes the show feel cohesive, but a little too controlled. Johnson certainly has demonstrated her patience and dedication to see a vision through to the end, persisting even as she witnessed political leaders debate and erode her own autonomy. This is admirable, and the payoff is a serious achievement. But towards the end of my visit, I found myself looking for a break in the experience—a chip in the studious continuation of a vision that allowed for surprise, or grief, or solutions to present themselves. 

Certainly the artist felt this range while executing her vision, but what revolution has ever been fueled by showing restraint in the face of repeated assault? Again and again, we are met with the same critique and execution, a perfected technique over an assured composition—a slogan on repeat. One can imagine Johnson bent over each one, tweezers in her steady hand, weighing out crystals as they correspond to capitol facades, leafing through images in the public domain for the corresponding landscapes. During a prolonged study of the work, the consistency becomes rather limiting. I believe this critique mostly applies to the experience of seeing them all together. Scattering the images across new locations, or displaying only one in a non-gallery context, can sidestep this particular fatigue.

I suggest spending time with a few of the most dynamic compositions, reading the accompanying text, and using Johnson’s work as a vehicle to consider how even the smallest political actions (or inactions) lend incremental power to those who seek to adjust bodily autonomy at various stages of life, class, and age. I think that’s what Johnson is ultimately asking from her audience. 

Niki Johnson’s “Capitol V” will be on view through Saturday, Sept. 28 during normal gallery hours or by appointment at Var Gallery 643 S. Second Street.

Event Listings

September 1-September 7

Milwaukee Art Museum

Drop-In Art Making: Kohl’s Art Studio

Sunday, September 1, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Historic Third Ward

“Annual Third Ward Art Festival”

Sunday, August 31, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Drop-In Tours: Architecture and Collection Highlights

Sunday, September 1, 2–3 p.m.

Five Points Art Gallery + Studios

Playthings Solo + Assembled Exhibition Openings

Friday, September 6, 6–9 p.m.

Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA)

Art+Wellness, From Invasive Species to Functional Art

Wednesday, September 4, 10:30–11:30 a.m.

Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum

Work from Home Wednesday: coworking session at the Villa

Wednesday, September 4, 12–3 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Group Therapy (Women): Black Space at MAM

Wednesday, September 4, 5:30–7 p.m.

Charles Allis Museum of Art

Free Admission Thursday

Thursday, September 5, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum

Free Admission Thursday

Thursday, September 5, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Member Preview Day: “Currents 39: LaToya M. Hobbs”

Thursday, September 5, 10 a.m.–8 p.m.

Racine Art Museum

HOOPS Table Read and Community Conversation with Nicole Acosta

Thursday, September 5, 5–8 p.m.

MARN Art+Culture Hub

LUNA Info Session Mixer

Thursday, September 5, 5–7 p.m.  

Racine Art Museum

Free First Fridays

Friday, September 6, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Kim Storage Gallery

Opening reception: Up North

Friday, September 6, 5–8 p.m.  

UWM Union Art Gallery (2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. Campus Level 1)

Opening reception: Working for the Water: Working for Each Other

Friday, September 6, 5–8 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Opening Reception with Artist LaToya M. Hobbs

Friday, September 6, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Play Date with Art: Carving Out Time to Play

Saturday, September 7, 10 a.m.–12 p.m.  

Milwaukee Art Museum

Drop-In Art Making: Kohl’s Art Studio

Saturday, September 7, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Story Time in the Galleries

Saturday, September 7, 10:30–11 a.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Parent-Artist and Children Luncheon: “Carving Out Time”

Saturday, September 7, 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m.

Mitchell Street BID # 4

Mitchell Street Art Fair

Saturday, September 7, 12–6 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Artist Talk: LaToya M. Hobbs

Saturday, September 7, 1–2:15 p.m.

Milwaukee Art Museum

Drop-In Tours: Architecture and Collection Highlights

Saturday, September 7, 2–3 p.m.

Saint Kate, the Arts Hotel

AIR tour with new Artist-in-Residence Megan Woodard Johnson

Saturday, September 6, 5 p.m.