Doesn't every 8-year-old's messy bed look like this?
Posted on 02/07/2012 2:18:27 PM PST by BenLurkin
Mike Kelley, the daring and influential contemporary installation artist ... has died, police said Wednesday. He was 57.
Kelley's body was found at his home Tuesday night and it appeared he had committed suicide, South Pasadena Police Sgt.
"His work was widely collected and exhibited internationally," said Stephanie Barron, senior curator of modern art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "... Artists like that don't come around very often."
Kelley's work will be included in the upcoming 2012 Whitney biennial in New York.
"Mike was an irresistible force in contemporary art," Kelley's studio, Gagosian Gallery, said in a statement that the Los Angeles Times published on its website. "We cannot believe he is gone. But we know his legacy will continue to touch and challenge anyone who crosses its path. We will miss him. We will keep him with us."
Kelley's notable works included a life-size re-creation of his childhood home on wheels, tiny rendition of Superman's extraterrestrial birthplace encased in a glass jug and several spherical sculptures made of stuffed animals.
"His works often violated notions of so called good taste and blurred the boundaries between art, music and popular culture," said Barron.
He erected a life-sized Colonel Sanders statue alongside a miniature Sigmund Freud at the Gagosian in Los Angeles in 2011 and was influenced by old yearbooks for a sprawling 2005 exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery in New York that featured a 15-foot-long missile called the "gospel rocket."
Kelley was a student of conceptual artist John Baldessari, and he collaborated with fellow bold artists like Paul McCarthy and Tony Oursler. The band Sonic Youth used Kelley's work on the album cover for "Dirty" released in 1992.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs8.com ...
When our kids brought home stuff about which I had NO clue, I’d just say, in a delighted voice, “Oh how interesting. Tell me about it!”. Then they’d explain what it was supposed to be, at which point I’d just nod my head and say, “Wow that’s really neat!”. They were always pleased to describe their ideas and the process of bringing them to artistic life. ;o)
I’m stealin’ that for the Friday silliness.
Good response and variations of it should also work with confusing adults!
Well at least his art isn’t totally useless as it was worth any number of good laughs here at Free Republic.
Doesn't every 8-year-old's messy bed look like this?
With great works like this, how could he have taken his own life?? How dare he deny us more crap like this?
What creativity. What genius. Please.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.