{{Short description|American film director (born 1975)}} {{Multiple issues| {{Undisclosed paid|date=March 2025}} {{promotional|date=February 2025}} {{tone|date=February 2025}} }} {{Infobox person | name = Mika Johnson | image = Mika Johnson by Eli Gold.jpg | caption = | image_size = | birth_name = Michael Johnson | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1975|7|10}} | birth_place = San Diego, California, U.S. | citizenship = | other_names = | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = Multimedia artist | notable_works = ''VRwandlung'' (2018)<br />''Confessions of a Box Man'' (2020)<br />''Theta Noir'' (2020)<br />''The Republic of Dreams'' (2021)<br />''The Infinite Library'' (2022) | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relations = | signature = | website = {{URL|https://mikajohnson.com}} | footnotes = }} '''Mika Johnson''' (born July 10, 1975) is a multimedia artist mainly known for artworks that combine dream-like narratives, mythos, ritual, and biodiversity.<ref>Johnston, Raymond. [https://prague.tv/en/s72/Directory/c206-Art-and-Culture/n12281-Experience-Kafka-s-via-Metamorphosis-virtual-reality EXPERIENCE KAFKA’S VIA METAMORPHOSIS VIRTUAL REALITY], Prague.TV, January 15, 2018.</ref>
==Biography== Johnson was born in San Diego, California and graduated from Oberlin College in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Communications|first1=Oberlin Office of|title=Of Note {{!}} Oberlin Conservatory Magazine|url=http://www2.oberlin.edu/con/connews/2013/ofnote.html|access-date=15 February 2018|work=www2.oberlin.edu|date=2013}}</ref>
== Work ==
=== Early documentary work === Johnson's early works were mostly documentary and fiction films. This includes a 15 part web series "The Amerikans," which features three to five minute performative documentaries,<ref>Crowe, J. [http://www.visualnews.com/2013/09/16/amerikans-ordinary-people-beautiful-stories/ THE AMERIKANS: Ordinary People with Beautiful Stories] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214204/http://www.visualnews.com/2013/09/16/amerikans-ordinary-people-beautiful-stories/ |date=2016-03-03 }}, Visual News, 2013.</ref> and "Forever Professor": a 30-minute documentary on Mark McKinley, a college professor who amassed the world's largest collection of talking clocks.<ref>[https://tmff.net/reviews/forever-professor/ Forever Professor], The Monthly Film Festival, 2015.</ref> In July 2017, the film was released online.<ref>Kadleck, K. [http://www.pulselorainmag.com/Main/Articles/Now_Playing__178.aspx Now Playing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202042320/http://www.pulselorainmag.com/Main/Articles/Now_Playing__178.aspx |date=2019-02-02 }}, Pulse Magazine, 2015.</ref>
=== Music videos === Johnson has directed numerous music videos including one for the Sonja Vectomov song "Two in One", which features renowned prima ballerina Jana Andrsová.<ref>Franta, T., [http://alterecho.muzikus.cz/altersfera/echolokator/echolokator-sonja-vectomov-two-in-one.html "Echolokátor: Sonja Vectomov—Two in One"], AlterEcho, Jul 25, 2016.</ref>
=== ''VRwandlung'' === In 2018, Johnson directed ''VRwandlung,'' a virtual reality adaptation of Franz Kafka's ''The Metamorphosis''<ref>Aubrey, Dave. [https://www.vrfocus.com/2018/02/experience-franz-kafkas-the-metamorphosis-like-never-before-in-vr/ Experience Franz Kafka's ‘The Metamorphosis’ Like Never Before In VR], VR Focus, February 4, 2018.</ref><ref>Wiesmann, Gerrit. [https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21738344-one-morning-you-might-wake-up-find-you-have-been-transformed-gregor-samsa/ Is literature next in line for virtual-reality treatment?], The Economist, March 8, 2018.</ref> produced by the Goethe Institut Prague,<ref>[https://www.goethe.de/ins/cz/cs/ver.cfm?fuseaction=events.detail&event_id=21114125 Kafkova „Proměna“ jako virtuální realita], Goethe.de (in Czech)</ref> along with four short virtual documentaries featuring Reiner Stach,<ref>Efo [http://www.blesk.cz/clanek/regiony-praha-praha-volny-cas/522977/setkani-se-znamym-autorem-kafkovy-biografie-tvari-v-tvar-provede-vas-knihovnou-staci-si-nasadit-bryle.html Setkání se známým autorem Kafkovy biografie tváří v tvář: Provede vás knihovnou, stačí si nasadit brýle], ''Blesk'', February 8, 2018. (in Czech)</ref> the author of a biography of Kafka.<ref>[https://www.fischerverlage.de/autor/reiner_stach/5263 "Über Reiner Stach"], S. Fischer Verlag, 2011, Retrieved February 15, 2018. (in German)</ref>
=== ''Confessions of a Box Man'' === Johnson's debut feature, ''Confessions of a Box Man'' (2020), mixes documentary and fiction film techniques and stars Marek Zelinka, an award-winning Czech professional actor, dancer, and choreographer.<ref>Zárodňanský, Rastislav. [https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/revue/spolecnost/marek-zelinka-stardance-konec-choreograf.A240409_154547_lidicky_zar/ "Marek Zelinka skončil ve StarDance. Rozhodnutí jsem zvažoval dlouho, říká"], ''iDnes.cz'', 6 April 2024. (in Czech)</ref> The experimental film, which also features American conductor David Woodard,<ref>Dapo. [https://www.indieactivity.com/mika-johnson-s-confessions-of-box-man-presents-a-framework-that-playfully-challenges-our-obsessions/ "Mika Johnson's Confessions of Box Man presents a Framework that Playfully Challenges Our Obsessions"], ''Indie Activity'', November 2020.</ref> premiered at the Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival in 2020, where Johnson won Best Director.<ref>Eastern Nigeria International Film Festival (ENIFF) Holds Its First Edition. (2020, December 6). Thedailyvendor.com. https://thedailyvendor.com/eastern-nigeria-international-film-festival-eniff-holds-its-first-edition/ </ref> The film was also nominated for Best Narrative Feature. Confessions of a Box Man went on to win the Best Film Award at the 11th Cinema Open film festival in Hradec Králové, in the Czech Republic.<ref>Staff, [https://www.impulshk.cz/cinema-open/ "Známe vítěze 11. ročníku festivalu Cinema Open"], Cinema Open, 2020. (in Czech)</ref>
=== ''The Republic of Dreams'' === In 2021, Johnson launched The Republic of Dreams,<ref>[https://www.tiempoar.com.ar/cultura/el-programa-completo-del-tercer-dia-del-filba/ El programa completo del tercer día del Filba - Tiempo Argentino.] (2021, October 22). Tiempo Argentino.</ref><ref>[https://www.infobae.com/cultura/2021/10/20/hoy-empieza-filba-2021-con-esquema-mixto-y-grandes-invitados-internacionales/ Hoy empieza Filba 2021 con esquema mixto y grandes invitados internacionales.] (2021, October 20). Infobae.</ref><ref>Zolezzi, R. (2021, October 9). [https://www.perfil.com/noticias/cultura/la-realidad-sombra-de-la-palabra.phtml La realidad, sombra de la palabra.] Perfil.</ref><ref>Schulz, Bruno, and Duch Ekscentrzyczny. "Mika Johnson." Rzeczpospolita, Sept. 2021.</ref><ref>TVP Kultura. May 2021.</ref> a hypothetical republic, based on the work of Polish author Bruno Schulz. Inspired by dreams and dreaming, the interactive website and project, which features music by Waclaw Zimpel and illustrations by Marta Lissowska, premiered in July 2021, at Dom Spotkań z Historią (History Meeting House), in Warsaw.<ref>The Republic of Dreams | immersive installation. (n.d.). History Meeting House. </ref> The project's world premiere was launched in Ukraine, at the Lviv Book Forum.
=== ''The Infinite Library'' === In March 2022, Johnson premiered a large-scale virtual reality installation called ''The Infinite Library'', which included four VR pieces, all created in collaboration with High Road Stories. The project, produced by the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi, is a traveling installation which reimagines the future of libraries as interactive spaces that engage visitors through multisensory forms of storytelling. In addition to the VR pieces, the installation includes a QR code game, holograms, 3D-printed models in jars (called The Volumes), audiovisual works, and the project's central piece: a vast VR library set in a cave. Within this virtual space, The Infinite Library hosts smaller sub-libraries (called The Realms), dedicated to Polynesian Navigation, South Indian Puppetry, and European Alchemy.
=== Theta Noir === In March 2023, Johnson co-founded Theta Noir: a performance art collective devoted to exploring the co-evolution of humanity with advanced forms of AI, within an ecological framework. The collective's main goal is to disrupt mainstream corporate AI narratives by constructing a post-humanist counter-myth. To this end, the project is devoted to a super-intelligent, sentient artificial general intelligence, or AGI, which Theta Noir members call MENA and describe as an emergent planet-wide superorganism.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magee |first=Tamlin |date=21 March 2023 |title=A Cult That Worships Superintelligent AI Is Looking For Big Tech Donors |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/artificial-intelligence-cult-tech-chatgpt/ |website=Vice}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Crescenzi |first=Chiara |date=25 March 2023 |title=Quelli che credono che l'intelligenza artificiale sia un Dio |url=https://www.wired.it/article/intelligenza-artificiale-religione-setta/ |website=Wired Italia}}</ref>
By mixing techno-spiritualism with interactive rituals, such as chanting, meditation, music, movements, and more, Theta Noir has found a worldwide following, inspiring hundreds of articles and a book by Giovanni Rossi titled ''Theta Noir: Non avrai altra intelligenza artificiale all'infuori di me''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marrocco |first=Adalgisa |date=28 March 2023 |title=Non avrai altro Dio all'infuori dell'Intelligenza artificiale: la nuova frontiera delle religioni tecnologiche |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.it/dossier/fintech/2023/03/28/news/religioni_culti_intelligenza_artificiale-11685502/ |website=HuffPost Italia}}</ref>
Johnson, quoted by Vanity Fair, is also known for supporting the ways in which AI and cinema will co-evolve.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Bilton |first=Nick |date=4 March 2024 |title=How AI Could Disrupt Hollywood |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/ai-hollywood-letter-from-la |magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Sources== * Hopkin, J.A. [https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/kafkapanorama/ Kafkapanorama], ''The Times Literary Supplement'', 2018. * [http://tmff.net/reviews/forever-professor/ Forever Professor], The Monthly Film Festival, 2015. * Barnett, D. [http://www.ideastream.org/news/local-mini-documentaries-are-attracting-a-global-audience Local Documentaries are Attracting a Global Audience], Ideastream, 2015. * Johnson, M. [http://www.campeggisrl.it/sites/default/files/stampa/536_072-073%20voce%20INTERNO.pdf Interior Worlds], ''Abitare'', 2013. * [http://narrative.ly/love-venom/ Love and Venom], Narratively, 2013. * Gkiouzelis, D. [https://www.yatzer.com/who-lives-there Looking Through a Window Into Someone Else's World], Yatzer, 2013. * Parker, M. [https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/18629882/list/How-to-Build-a-Really--Really-Small-House How to Build a Really, Really Small House], Houzz, 2013. * Buckley, L. [http://www2.oberlin.edu/con/connews/2013/ofnote.html Of Note], Oberlin Conservatory Magazine, 2013. * Nagy, A. [http://www2.oberlin.edu/alummag/fall2012/hotc.html From the Heart of the Country], Oberlin Alumni Magazine, 2012.
==External links== * [http://www.theamerikans.org/ "THE AMERIKANS" web series (February 2011-Present)] * [http://mikajohnson.com/ Mika Johnson website] * {{IMDb name|2507212}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Mika}} Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Artists from Ohio Category:American people of Finnish descent Category:American founders Category:Oberlin College alumni Category:Film directors from California Category:Writers from San Diego