Michael Johnson knew he was witnessing something special when he first encountered the Oak Bluffs Polar Bears at Inkwell Beach in 2010. His iconic black-and-white photograph of about 20 participants standing breast-deep in calm waters, arms raised in a sacred salutation, exemplifies the essence of its title, “JOY.”
The photograph embodies the spirit of the beloved Inkwell Beach ritual, which began in 1946. The Polar Bears’ early morning water exercise class was created as a haven for Black swimmers during segregation. “The Inkwell” became a popular spot for Black people in Oak Bluffs in the late 19th century, as more African Americans arrived for religious revival, for work, for vacation, and to buy property. “Inkwell” was originally a pejorative nickname for the beach, referencing the dark skin of the sunbathers. Over time, the African American community reclaimed the name, turning a racist slur into a badge of pride in their presence and community.
Johnson first heard the term “Inkwell Beach” in 1994, but he says it wasn’t commonly used until around 2008. “I knew the history of it as a beach frequented by Black people, but it didn’t have this whole association of being Martha’s Vineyard’s Black beach until more recently.”
Johnson began photographing landscapes at Inkwell Beach in 2009, but it was the following year that he first experienced the Polar Bears, at his friend Carleen Cardwell’s urging. “One morning, I had a couple of hours and went down to see what the Polar Bears were doing.” He recalls the magical moment when he saw the first two ladies start to wade into the water: “It was very flat and calm. I photographed them, and it just hit me: What they are doing is really important, and this is something I need to photograph and be involved with long-term.”
Johnson continues, “Since I created ‘JOY,’ it hasn’t just opened but kicked down countless doors of opportunity and led to a level of professional and personal popularity that I never could have imagined, leading to the monikers ‘The People’s Photographer’ and ‘That Guy!’ It has been placed in public areas to the point of ubiquity, acquired innumerable times, and gifted to visiting luminaries, including baseball legend Hank Aaron and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at public events. I am the sole artist focusing on that historic spot consistently and long-term.”
Johnson reflects the diversity of those who visit Inkwell Beach, which, like Oak Bluffs itself, is filled with people of all ages, backgrounds, and races. He believes it’s important to show this reality, because, he says, “The media is putting in people’s minds that [these places] are exclusive to Black people. Inkwell Beach is always one that Black people have frequented, but it’s a town beach.”
Johnson is a master at capturing his subject’s essence in a single moment. He moves in close in his portrayal of the Rev. Deacon Gloria Wong at 95 and a half, the oldest living Polar Bear at the time. The garlands encircling her head and around her neck frame her beatific countenance, radiating a kind soul.
Johnson creates a dynamic diagonal in “Dr. Lorna Andrade — Polar Bear — 2018.” As our gaze travels from the lower right upward toward the left, we stop halfway at Dr. Andrade’s elegant hands, which appear as if in prayer. Shaded by a floppy hat, she holds an umbrella decorated with a Monet painting in which a woman in a bonnet holds her own parasol.
Johnson creates an intriguing play of shadows right at our feet in his “Polar Bear Men Converse.” Three friends sit with their backs to us, silhouetted by the calm waters dotted with bathers, including a small trio in the far distance on the left and a receding jetty to the right.
In 2017, Johnson created signs honoring Inkwell Beach and the Polar Bears and surreptitiously installed them at 3 am. “That morning, everyone was stunned and happy to finally have something publicly representing their beach and the Polar Bears. People loved it and took photographs with the signs.” Although the authorities allowed the signs to remain that season, he did not win permission the following summer.
On Juneteenth 2024, Johnson launched a new series, “Inkwell Folks,” photographing diverse people holding the sign. The warm sepia tones in the photos add both a historic connotation and a softening of the image. “When I started processing them, I thought, ‘Color just won’t do it. It’s not documentary and artsy enough for my sensibilities.’ In black-and-white, they felt too cold. The sepia gives it an old-school feel and a sense of nostalgia, making it eternal — past, present, and future at the same time.”
We can see Johnson, too, in one of the “Inkwell Folks” series. He stands out anywhere as a consistently natty dresser, attired in his signature Italian-made cowboy boots and a stylish hat. He shares, “As a kid, my mom taught me that you had control over how people perceive you by your dress. I’m as much my palette as the photographs.”
Johnson is also a master at landscapes, as seen in his stunning images of Inkwell Beach and those around the Island, including his breathtaking “Red Clay and Clouds” of the Aquinnah Cliffs. “People always ask how I got the pink in the clouds. I say, ‘That’s how it looked. We don’t do AI here.’”
In 2012, Johnson opened his little gem of a gallery, nestled away off the beaten path behind Claudia Jewelry in Vineyard Haven. The brightly painted pink interior brims with gorgeous photographs of the Vineyard, made all the more luscious by the breeze and dappled sunlight streaming in from the patio and garden oasis.
“At my gallery, we also share about the history and culture of Inkwell Beach and Martha’s Vineyard, both of which I have read about and studied in depth. My photography of this beach and its people is an excellent conversation starter for many topics of history and culture on M.V. and in the wider world.”
Today, Inkwell Beach is bustling with Polar Bears wading in the water and many people taking part in yoga classes on the beach. Johnson is there with his camera, capturing the daily rituals, memorials, prayer vigils, birthdays, and celebrations of all kinds as people come and go. “The attraction is to document that history. I have photographed Inkwell Beach since 2009, and it will be an ongoing project until I’m pushing up daisies.”
Michael Johnson’s work can be seen at the Michael Johnson Photo Gallery, 34A Main St., Vineyard Haven (next to Nat’s Nook), and the Cousen Rose Gallery, 71 Circuit Ave., Oak Bluffs. He also organizes the free weekly Photographers Salon at Featherstone on Tuesday evenings during the summer.