PAINTING BY LATE SPRINGFIELD ARTIST
ACCEPTED BY MDA ART COLLECTION

TUCSON, Ariz., July 6, 2001 - A painting by the late Christopher S. Johnson of Springfield, Mo., has been accepted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Art Collection. The Collection features artwork by people from across the country with neuromuscular diseases.

"Weeping Willow" was donated by a Springfield MDA staff member who purchased the painting from Johnson several years ago. The artist died in January as a result of muscular dystrophy, and the staffer donated the piece to honor his memory.

To create the oil painting showing a majestic willow casting a shadow over a nearby creek, Johnson used a brush inserted into a pipe stem that he held with clenched teeth.

"Weeping Willow" by Christopher Johnson

Despite the fact that it took him about 80 hours to complete the painting -- using short, jabbing strokes that left his mouth so sore he couldn't chew for days afterward - Johnson often said he wanted to be known for the quality of his work, not the method.

A self-taught artist since the early 1980s, Johnson was originally inspired to paint by seeing work by other artists with disabilities. In the last few years, Johnson began to create artwork by computer, using a program that allowed him to enter commands using puffs of air.

Johnson was affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder characterized by progressive wasting and weakness of the voluntary -- or skeletal -- muscles. The disease claimed his life at age 40.

"We're honored to have such an evocative painting by Chris Johnson in the permanent MDA Art Collection," said MDA Senior Vice President and Executive Director Robert Ross. "It's tragic that Duchenne muscular dystrophy claimed the life of this talented artist, but he lives on through the memories of those whose lives he touched through his artwork."

The new addition by Johnson will be exhibited at MDA's national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and will be included in MDA Art Collection traveling exhibits. The Collection was established in 1992 to focus attention on the achievements of artists with disabilities, and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity.

The permanent Collection currently comprises more than 260 works by artists ages 2 to 82 and represents 48 states. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art; Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center and Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York; Tucson Museum of Art; Bishop Museum in Honolulu; Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Los Angeles Children's Museum; University of California-Berkeley and Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Duluth Art Institute; Capitol Children's Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains a clinic for area adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases at St. John's Regional Health Center Springfield, Mo.

The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.