When Erykah Badu retweeted Johnny Polygon’s caricature of her in the summer of 2013, he could not have imagined the impact it would have on his career.
“I screamed at the top of my lungs, I was crying, I made an Instagram video. After that people were retweeting and commenting and someone said that I should put my art on Instagram and have a big portfolio that people can see,” he said.
Polygon received many retweets and comments, including fans prompting him to create an Instagram portfolio.
He created Polygon Arts and has since been recognized by many celebrities. He has over 2,000 Instagram followers.
Polygon is a sophomore art major at Georgia State and has been drawing and creating art since his childhood.
“I’ve been doing art since I was like five,” Polygon said.
“It was always in my family because my dad is an artist and my mom does textiles, so everyone had a thread of creativity.”
Polygon drew inspiration from his personal life. He explained that every event he went through impacted his artwork in some way.
When he came to Georgia State, he enrolled in an art in society Freshman Learning Community (FLC), where he began to make connections with other student artists and professors.
Joining an FLC presented him with a lot of opportunities to grow as an artist, with the backing of a strong support system.
Johnny Polygon, a sophomore art student, creates Pop Art pieces that feature vibrant colors and abstract shapes.
“Even though you are independent, you still have people that you see every day,” Polygon said.
“You develop relationships and you get to work off of each other. It’s like a giant social network that benefits you.”
Polygon also made connections with undergraduate art adviser Adam Wagner, who helped him get a leg up in the art world.
“He actually got me my first graphic design job which led me to being published in Spain,” said Polygon.
While learning about his craft, Polygon dedicated himself to producing artwork outside of the classroom.
He began to draw people to whom he looked up and who inspired him in some way, Erykah Badu being the prime example.
“I worshipped Erykah Badu. Erykah Badu is everything to me,” he said.
After Badu retweeted the drawing Polygon did for her, people on social media began to pay close attention to the artwork he was producing.
He began to focus on his Instagram account and used it to build a portfolio where he could expose his artwork to the public and the figures he drew.
Some of the celebrities who have supported Polygon’s artwork are Little Debbie, Shaun Ross, Nivea and Amiyah Scott.
Aside from the caricatures that have launched his artwork into the public eye, Polygon is proficient in various different mediums. He uses makers, paint, graphic design, pens and tattoo ink to produce artwork on a larger scale.
“Polygon Arts is more of the social commentary, politically activated art work. When I associate a piece of my art with Polygon Arts I think that’s the one looking at the social issues.”
He has addressed issues like drug use, pollution and mistreatment of the elderly on various platforms. Some of these works were featured in his debut art show—Black Space—this past November.
Polygon’s passion for creating artwork is the motivating factor behind his hard work and dedication, but being able to affect others helps him strive for more.
“You have all this power in your hand, use it.”
You can follow Polygon Arts on Instagram @pharaohpolygon or catch his artwork in these upcoming shows:
April 12 Black Space II @ The Sound Table
April 28 New Kids on the Block @ The Mint Gallery
