The Makeout Project: Kisses by Jedediah Johnson

36 years oldJedediah Johnson,
Photographer from Chicago. Graduated from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago — one of America’s largest accredited independent schools of art and design. Had exhibited his works in the Artist’s Corner Gallery (Los Angeles), Armony Center for the Arts (Passadena) and Heaven Gallery (Chicago). Favorite book — “Everything Matters” by Ron Currie Jr.

I am not really sure where did the idea came from — it just popped into my head one day. After the girl I had been seeing broke up with me, I decided to charge forward and start kissing people.

Why so many people relate to my project? I think most people just enjoy kissing. Everybody has had a moment when they wanted to share that kind of intimacy with a stranger, but they didn’t know how a person would react and walked away. I represent a perfect stranger. Anybody can ask me to kiss them because they know I’ll say yes. It’s also just fun. People like fun projects.

I enjoy photographs that compel my attention within the frame while making me wonder what occurs beyond it. I try to do that with “The Makeout Project”. I consider my images successful when the viewer appreciates their beauty then wonders what the kiss was like.

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When you are talking to people they are usually trying to present the image of themselves that they want to be. In the moment of the kiss, it is far more difficult to maintain that facade. If I could really analyze the moment of the kiss I’d be able to tell a lot about the person. Of course, I try to loose myself in every kiss so I don’t always pick up on the nuances.

The choice of a partner can speak volumes about the person. Attraction between humans is, for the most part, a complex mix of subconscious emotional tendencies, the language of those volumes would most likely be largely undecipherable. I usually pick people based on whether or not I think they would say yes. Everyone expects it, I only make out by appointment.

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I have a blog where I publish new images at least once a week. I really haven’t actively promoted the project. I had a show at the Intercontinental Hotel in Chicago and the publicist for the show got me an interview and it snowballed into more and more media coverage. I’m extremely bad at self-promotion, as is the case with many successful artists and all artists of whom you’ve never heard.

I would like to do this project for as long as I can tolerate it. I want to kiss people all over the world. I want to kiss everyone from the very old to the very young until I am very old. I want to spend a lifetime building this collection of experiences.