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Hi LIFE INSIDE MOREHOUSE. SEPTEMBER 2010 ‘It’s Everything’ Judo Is a Way of Life for Quentin Johnson '02 By ADD SEYMOUR JR Quentin Johnson ’02 lost 100 pounds in 2003 while liv ing in Japan. Great accom plishment, until he considered the potential impact. “My friends and I used to rough house a lot in college,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t want my friends to think they could best me, so I figured the best way to supplement the loss of my strength and weight was to bolster my skill level in terms of fending off any particular attackers.” So Johnson, now an assis tant director of recruiting, thought he’d pick up a hobby: judo. It turned out to be a life- altering decision. Instead of a rough-housing advantage, judo has become a passion that has him teaching and competing all over the country. “It’s a way of life,” Johnson said. “One of the mantras in judo is maximum efficiency, minimum effort, mutual benefit and welfare for all. I live that. Even in some thing as simple as just getting to know people. The path of least resistance is always to be nice. So judo has involved itself totally in my life. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.” Johnson practices four to six days a week at his Alpharetta dojo (the Japanese word for martial arts training site). But most days he does something related to judo, such as yoga for strength and flex ibility or even just push-ups. While he teaches adult and children’s classes, lohnson has begun focusing on competitive judo. That took some getting used to after learning the sport in Japan, where judo originated. “Judo in Japan is different than it is here in the United States because it is seen as a recreati onal activity,” he said. “Here in America, it’s primarily done for the competition aspect of it. “For me, with a recreational viewpoint on judo, it took some getting used to when I got back here to America, especially seeing how people reacted to it and how much more they were serious about winning. In Japan it was more recreational and was more about perfecting the art. It made me realize that losing is part of winning - because I had to change my attitude and take on a winning attitude. That’s when I started to win.” Johnson won gold in a local competition, came in third in a national meet in Philadelphia and finished second in the USA National President’s Cup Champ ionships in Michigan in June. But while winning is great, he sees judo as something bigger. “(The judo community is] my family, my friends, my workout, my therapy,” Johnson said. “Judo is everything.” ■ SELF PORTRAIT Louis Delsarte Tells His Own Story in His Hammonds House Exhibit "Jazz Dancer" By ADD SEYMOUR JR Art professor Louis Delsarte has told many stories around the world through his renowned works of art. But in his latest exhibit at the Hammonds House Museum, he has painted about a topic he knows best - Louis Delsarte. “It’s a retrospective of the 40 years of my life as an artist,” he said of his exhibit titled, “Spirit Chasing Rainbows: the Art of Louis Delsarte.” “It goes back to the time when I was 14 years old and goes up to the present,” he said. “People can see how dedicated I’ve been to the arts over the years and they can figure out my sense of style and direction.” The exhibit, which opened to rave reviews during the National Black Arts Festival in July, ran through Sept. 12. Delsarte, who studied art at Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute and the University of Tucson, has spent his life painting, drawing, doing two- dimensional designs, using water- color and other media to create his colorful take on life. His diverse portfolio has been exhibited in cities such as Wash ington, D.C., New Orleans, New York and Los Angeles. His glass mural in Brooklyn, “The Trans itions: Glass Tile Murals,” illus trates life in the diverse Flatbush community where he grew up. His 2000 painting of Martin Luther King Jr. ’48, “From Selma to Montgomery,” was featured on a U.S. postage stamp in 2005. In January, the city of Atlanta unveiled Delsarte’s 125-foot mu ral, “Dreams, Visions and Change: The Martin Luther King Jr. National Mural,” along the wall of the Martin Luther King Jr. Natatorium facing the MLK National Historic Site. His Hammonds House exhib it is a take on various stages of his life, including a piece about his growing up and watching the car nival in Brooklyn; another on his views on the strength of a woman; and a mixed-media collage on the birth of Christ. “His paintings whimsically move the eyes through a spatial carnival of colors that are a hallmark of Delsarte’s mature work, colors and forms,” said Hammonds House curator Kevin Sipp. “His sensual depiction of the human form in his work is remi niscent of the works of Ren aissance masters, and what is cap tured in the subject matter of his art can be seen as a diaspora of cultural experiences.” Looking at his Hammonds House work, Delsarte said he sees himself. “I see a history of my work, he said. “It’s a good feeling to see everything that I’ve done throughout my life. It represents 40 years of my life.” ■ Renaissance Readers Book Club Promotes a Well-Read Community By ADD SEYMOUR JR. A group of faculty and staff has heeded the call of President Robert M. Franklin ’75 to build a Morehouse community that is well-read by forming an organization titled, The Renaissance Readers Book Club. “The name was chosen because of the commitment of the College to develop Rena-issance men, so we decided on the same name for the book club,” said organizer Doris Coleman, chief ethics and compliance officer. “It is an opportunity to read, laugh and meet other employees,” Coleman said. “The common theme is that we all love to read and expe rience the adventure and learning that reading pro vides us. The club is open to any faculty and staff member. For more information about joining The Renaissance Readers, call Doris Coleman at (404) 681-7554 or email her at: dcoleman@morehouse.edu. "Man in Grass"