20 Years of Healing Nature Art in Healthcare Design

Kurt Johnson’s life has always revolved around photography.  His first camera was a non-working Brownie from his dad when he was 6 or 7.  Taking photographs was how Kurt saw the world, and he was eager to share what he found.

Whether through photojournalism, architectural photography, selling fine art prints, or shooting videos for places like ESPN, photography was Kurt’s passion.  Photographing the beauty and calm he found in nature was something he came back to again and again.

In 2004, Kurt was framing images at his dining room table.  He was doing art shows across the country and shooting architectural photography for several national publications.  He was making a living as a photographer, as he’d always done, but Kurt Johnson Photography wasn’t a name people in healthcare thought of when looking for healing nature art for hospitals . . . yet.

After a chance conversation with a designer followed by a request from a local hospital for Kurt’s nature images, a new path emerged for Kurt Johnson Photography.  One that would result in a team of five working together twenty years later, creating solutions with nature art that would positively impact patients and staff in healthcare environments across the country.

The first few healthcare installations were a labor of love, with an emphasis on labor.  It was a delicate operation of having images printed, ordering frames, cutting mats, and putting everything together – even driving to a hospital the day after Christmas to satisfy an expedited opening date.

And that’s how you build something from the ground up.  You put in the work.  Day after day, believing, knowing, it will pay off.

As the installations got larger, Kurt Johnson Photography started working with partners like Koroseal and Renze for printing needs.  They also have a long-standing partnership with Philip Frangenberg of Frameworks, Inc., who handles all of KJP’s framed art and canvas prints for healthcare installations.

Philip is meticulous with every image he installs and is a big part of ensuring each hospital and medical office building looks 110% once the artwork is hanging on the walls.  Philip also happens to be a really great guy who shares our passion for bringing nature indoors where it can have a positive impact on those who need it the most.

Carolyn Johnson started with Kurt Johnson Photography in 2004 working nights and weekends while she was still employed in the corporate world.  Her expertise in sales and marketing, and her natural talent in relationship-building, quickly grew KJP’s client base and led to even more healthcare projects, allowing her to become a full-time co-owner in 2015.

Carolyn is KJP’s director of development and sales.  She also handles art placement.  She is the visionary at KJP, looking ahead to see where we are and where we need to be.  She owns 51% of Kurt Johnson Photography, making it a women-owned small business.

Tori Gerkin joined the KJP team after the first few years (we don’t know the exact date but can’t remember a time without her) and has been a vital part of creating a cataloging system of Kurt’s thousands of images.

She wears many hats including editing, fulfilling photo requests, creating custom graphics based on client needs, attending site visits for measurements, handling art placement, and using her skills as a graphic artist to create custom imagery including vector graphics, color slices, image stitching and about any other type of graphic you can think of. 

She’s the art director for KJP and also manages the website and online catalog of imagery.  She’s involved in every detail of a project from creating custom portfolios to final approval of art placement, often assisting with installations when needed.

Jerred Zegelis started working for KJP part-time in 2018 while he was still a high-school photography and journalism teacher.  He helped with social media initiatives, special projects, and graphic art and is now a contributing photographer for KJP.  His specialty is wildlife imagery and panoramas.

As KJP’s Special Projects Coordinator, Jerred develops cutting-edge innovations, including KJP’s Impressionism and Layers imagery lines.

Jerred and Kurt travel throughout the US photographing local nature imagery for healthcare facilities, listening to true crime podcasts and even starting their own photography podcast since they always have such deep, inspiring conversations on the road.

Casey Kurz began writing for KJP in 2018.  She is the voice of KJP – telling the stories behind the installations.  A nature lover and artist herself, it didn’t take much time for her to realize the positive, healing impact Kurt’s nature photographs have in healthcare environments.  Casey endlessly researches the effects of nature imagery on patients, staff, and the entire care team and has written many case studies on the projects Kurt Johnson Photography has been a part of.

She’s always working behind the scenes so she can share how KJP’s “art has a job to do,” and how it’s accomplishing that work day after day.  The more people she can reach, the more chances KJP’s nature art has to improve the lives of the people moving through the healthcare system.  Her role has grown to include social media, video, website support, and marketing strategies. The work she’s done has extended the voice of KJP beyond the Midwest.

So while the business started with Kurt twenty years ago and is based on his vast image catalog, Kurt Johnson Photography is now a team of talented creatives who provide solutions for healthcare environments.  Guided by the principles of biophilic design, we bring nature indoors for healing and wayfinding.  And we’re humbled to be part of an industry whose goal is to save and improve lives.

We’ve seen firsthand how nature images help people by distracting them, even if only for a few seconds.  And the research on the healing benefits of nature imagery continues to grow.  We created our recent Innovations line to anticipate what’s ahead for healthcare environments – nature-based imagery with a twist and presentation options that offer unique perspectives on biophilic design.  And we want to continue to be at the forefront of the evolving needs of the healthcare industry.

We’re committed to providing creative, nature-based solutions for healthcare environments – from mental health facilities and hospitals to medical office buildings and senior living environments.  We’ve worked with large healthcare systems, architecture, and design firms, as well as smaller, rural environments, and we put the same care and importance on every project we do regardless of the name on the building.  For us, it always comes down to people – clients who spend tireless hours managing facilities, caring for patients, and working with staff and communities to make sure everyone on the care team is cared for.

If we can make our client’s lives easier by bringing a little bit of hope to patients and staff, then we can feel good about the work we do every day.

So, as we celebrate 20 years of Kurt Johnson Photography this month, we’re grateful to be even a small part of an industry dedicated to healing and for the amazing partners we get to work and collaborate with.  And we’ve got no plans of slowing down.