Barbara Karant

Residual textures, patterns and structures of the abandoned Ebony and Jet offices represent both the spirit of a Black publishing empire and the sense of its loss

Home to the creative teams behind the influential magazines Ebony and Jet, the offices of the Johnson Publishing Company at 820 South Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago were inspiring creations in their own right. Each floor of the 11-story building flaunted distinct color and pattern combinations, and this bold design telegraphed Johnson's position at the forefront of Black American business and culture. After the company sold the building in 2010 and relocated in 2012, Barbara Karant spent five years photographing the office's interiors, which remained largely unchanged since their original design in the 1970s. Approximately 150 color photographs are paired with images of the original interiors along with other archival material. Texts include an essay on the legacy of the Johnson Publishing Company and an oral history of the company as related by former employees.

Barbara Karant is a Chicago-based photographer whose work is represented in the permanent collections of the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, St. Louis Art Museum and the Stanford University Art Museum.

Deborah Willis is chair of the Department of Photography at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.

Aaron Bryant is a curator at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and co-curator of the Johnson Publishing Archives.

Cheryl Finley is director of the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective at Spelman College.

Brenna Wynn Greer is an associate professor of history at Wellesley College.

Jon Ott is the executive director and founding member of the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation.

E. James West is a lecturer at University College London and codirector of the Black Press Research Collective at Johns Hopkins University.

• Publisher: Mw Editions
  
• Publish Date: September 22, 2026
  
• Pages: 240
  
• Language: English
  
• Type: Hardcover
  
• EAN/UPC: 9781969303043
  
• Dimensions: 11 in H | 9.3 in W | 2.5 lb Wt
  
• BISAC Categories: Arts & Hobbies