Brian Johnson, one half of the art team Johnaker, held the frame of the silkscreen still. Graham Honaker, the other half, applied the magenta paint.
“See how this ink is … gak-like?” Honaker said. Johnson nodded. It was the kind of comment that might suggest that maybe the silkscreening was in trouble. But not under Honaker’s steady hand, as he spread the paint evenly to apply one of Johnaker’s images to a shirt that already had a little paint on it, which made it a perfect sacrifice for a demonstration. He used one of Johnaker’s most popular images: a smiling salt shaker on roller skates brandishing a porterhouse steak on a fork, which Johnson and Honaker call Speef.
Jonaker has recently landed a commission for a 95-square-foot mural to beautify the side of the parking garage at 1050 State St. It’s the latest step in a partnership that Honaker and Johnson started in late 2014 as a creative outlet, the beginnings of a business, and a way to build community, one image, one project at a time.
According to Johnson, the image of Speef “started as a joke between a friend and I about Spam.”
What about the rollerskates?
“We keep promising to produce custom roller skates, so we keep dropping hints when we can.”
“It’s gonna happen,” said Honaker.
“Yeah, that and custom moon boots,” Johnson said.
Brian Slattery Photo
Johnson and Johnaker’s stock of silkscreens.
The duo started Johnaker after working together to renovate the coffee shop inside Best Video Film and Cultural Center, where they both worked, after the store downsized its space on the way to becoming a nonprofit. This involved making the coffee shop’s footprint smaller, as well as moving the entire operation essentially to the other side of the building.
“That was our first artistic endeavor together, because we had to build the whole thing from scratch,” Honaker said. And at the end of it, they decided they should work together more often, as a team.
Honaker, a classically trained painter, moved to the area from New Mexico in 2008 with his wife. He had a “three-year run of success,” he said, “where a handful of collectors were paying me to paint, or do what I do.” The price of one of his paintings started at $1,200 and rose from there. In time, however, the commissions fell off, and Honaker felt that he couldn’t undercut the work he had already done by selling future paintings for less money. So he started casting about for another way to do art.
Johnson studied film in college and lived in L.A. for a while. He worked on a movie called Excision (“It’s pretty twisted. Very twisted, actually,” Johnson said). For a while he was a self-described “hobo.” Then he came to Connecticut in 2009, as his sister had settled in Guilford. He became an apprentice at a tattoo shop in Wallingford. “I did some tattooing on Graham,” he said.
Honaker had also seen some portraits Johnson had done at Best Video and liked what he saw. So after the coffee shop renovation, which showed they worked well together, it seemed it was time to take on the next project. “Something functional, I think was what we were both looking for,” Johnson said. Something that “was easily accessible to anyone,” Honaker said, in both form and price.
Studio wall.
They started off with the idea of making toys. “That got problematic,” Honaker said, “because the best way is to outsource” the production, and he and Johnson wanted to make everything themselves. They wanted to make art that would serve a purpose and be affordable, and yet also be collectible. Which led them to making T‑shirts and posters — specifically, posters (made by Johnson) and flyers (made by Honaker) for music shows in the area.
They initially made them to promote shows held at Best Video, and did a series of them. They also made promo for a show at Anna Liffey’s and a series for the Elm City Noise Fest. They were rewarded with a lot of appreciation from the music scene, which has been “really supportive,” Honaker said. That work led to a gig in web design.
Honaker and Johnson also reached out to bands they liked who weren’t in New Haven. The Pimps of Joytime, a touring soul band, responded by wearing Johnaker T‑shirts on stage and considering them for a series of tour posters.
More locally, a mural that Honaker and Johnson did for their show at City-Wide Open Studios caught the right eye, and earlier this month Johnaker received its commission for 1050 State Street. For its theme, the mural will draw from the history of the site, as a factory helping to build parts for Corsair airplanes.
The Corsair mural is a real step toward Johnaker’s goal of having a business fueled by commissions, where people “don’t know what they’re going to get,” but the pieces “will be collectible, so they’ll take a chance on it.”
But to get there, Johnaker is concentrating on community. Inspired by its collaborations with musicians so far, Honaker and Johnson are looking to put together an art and music festival in the spring. “There are so many talented people” in the area, Honaker said, “that if you pull it all together it can be amazing.”
“Johnaker is a brand, but it’s also a movement to just improve your quality of life,” Honaker continued. “To throw a little art into everything” — practically, one piece at a time.
Sound like awesome guys! Welcome!