Barbara Karant Photographs Chicago's First Black-Owned Building
Barbara Karant photographed Chicago's first Black-owned building, the Johnson Publishing Company interiors, in images compared to scenes from 'The Shining.'
Updated
Chicago photographer Barbara Karant calls the Johnson Publishing Company commission "a very unique project, to be sure." Her photographs take viewers inside the building that housed the company founded by media mogul John Harold Johnson during the Civil Rights Movement. It was Chicago's first Black-owned building.
Karant specializes in architecture and interior design photography. She is also an author and an educator. Her portfolio made her a natural fit for a space with this much visual character.
What do the pictures show?
The published imagery emphasizes bold pattern. One widely shared frame is a split-screen composition. It pairs a room with chevron-patterned walls and striped floors against a hallway with patterned carpet.
The effect is disorienting on purpose. Viewers have compared the interiors to scenes from Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining." That comparison comes from the graphic floors, the repeating motifs, and the long corridors that flatten into pure geometry under camera.
Karant's summary of the assignment was simple: "It was a very unique project, to be sure."
Why does the building matter?
John Harold Johnson founded Johnson Publishing Company during the Civil Rights Movement. The company grew into a major Black-owned media enterprise, and its headquarters became the first Black-owned building in Chicago.
That history sits inside the design itself. The interiors are not neutral containers. They carry the ambition of the institution that built them, and Karant's camera records both the pattern and the weight.
Architecture photography here does documentary work. Each frame preserves a space tied to a specific publisher, a specific city, and a specific era of American media history.
How does craft serve the work?
Karant's approach treats pattern as structure. The chevron walls and striped floors become the subject, not the backdrop.
A split-screen presentation sharpens the comparison. Two patterned spaces sit side by side. The viewer reads them as one argument about rhythm, repetition, and interior design of the period.
This is not decorative photography. The technique serves the record. Flat, frontal framing and precise alignment let the geometry speak, which is why the "Shining" comparison lands so readily with audiences.
What happens next?
The images continue to circulate and draw attention to a landmark of Black-owned media history in Chicago. Karant, active as a photographer, author, and educator, keeps the building's interiors in public view through work that doubles as architectural record and historical preservation.
Key points
- Barbara Karant is a Chicago-based photographer specializing in architecture and interior design, and an author and educator.
- The Johnson Publishing Company was founded by John Harold Johnson during the Civil Rights Movement.
- The building was Chicago's first Black-owned building.
- The interiors, with chevron walls and patterned carpet, have been compared to scenes from 'The Shining'.
Original: mweditions.com
Grace Kim
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Senior reporter covering companies, deals and strategy in Photography exhibitions, photographers, photo books, festivals and awards at Lens Gazette.
