Nathan Johnson, Innovator of Modernist Black Churches, Passes Away at 96
When The Detroit Free Press wrote a profile of Mr. Johnson in 1963, he declared his commitment to modernism and his extreme distaste for ornamentation and pastiche — “dishonest copies of the past,” as he put it. He particularly disliked colonial architecture. “We’re not living a colonial life, we’re not using colonial materials and we don’t even believe in colonialism,” he said. “Why should we design a colonial church?”
When The Detroit Free Press wrote a profile of Mr. Johnson in 1963, he declared his commitment to modernism and his extreme distaste for ornamentation and pastiche — “dishonest copies of the past,” as he put it. He particularly disliked colonial architecture. “We’re not living a colonial life, we’re not using colonial materials and we don’t even believe in colonialism,” he said. “Why should we design a colonial church?”
