More Love Hours Than Can Ever Be Repaid
I didn't know Mike Kelley, I am no expert on his work, but with his passing today I feel an incredible loss. I keep going to Facebook to see what artists are saying, I want to share in the mourning. I read the great article by Jerry Saltz and the posts on Culture Monster, but there is no assuaging this loss. I google his name over and over again, as if I will find some tiny piece of info that will make sense or prove this untrue. But there is nothing but shock and sadness. He is one of those people, where I looked forward to more. After his show at Gagosian last year, I was so interested to see where he would go next. At MOCA's: The First Thirty Years in 2010, Kelley's Pay for Your Pleasure was a stand out, a piece that stuck with me long after the show.
Another time I was at Patrick Painter Gallery and an open door to a back room revealed a piece of Kelley's work and when I asked about it, the gallery told me they hoped to have a show of his soon. I was excited at the idea of it (below: from the gallery).
Mike Kelley was so significant here in the LA scene that it was almost taken for granted he was here. I had this feeling I would meet him some day, that I would get to know him through his local projects at West of Rome, where even if I didn't attend, I knew he was there, paving the way and that his work was affecting us. I missed a lof of his early work, but knew there was more coming in the future.
I have felt this way a few times in my life, where someone I didn't know, but felt like I did, where I thought I would get more them at least publicly if not personally, left too early. River Phoenix is one that comes to mind.
While it is mind boggling that he apparently committed suicide, it is a theme I have had to deal with. My brother is a quadriplegic and has thought of suicide many times on and off through out the years. It is incomprehensible to think of someone you love making that choice. Even when you understand the reasons, death is never easy for the living to accept. I truly feel for his friends and family.
Mike Kelley's work is left with us, his impact on his many students is visible in an unnameable amount of artists who followed him.
From: the MOCA website:
I believe that art is socially useful. If it is destructive, it is constructively so. What helps some, hurts others - all art is not made for the same audience. We are in a very restrictive period where many think it is necessary to narrow the limits of what is allowable, to set up a unitary reality and condemn the idea of multiple "realities." I support an art of multiplicity, which is why I am an "anti-classical" artist. In fact, I like to think that I make my work primarily for those who dislike it. I get pleasure from that idea.
- Mike Kelly
I don't know if we'll ever know what compelled him, but I know that he is already missed by many. Peace to you Mike Kelley, peace.
Also check out this homage to Mike Kelley that you can participate in:
https://www.facebook.com/events/315401798497384/
My post on his Gagosian show last year.
Ed Ruscha, Mike Kelley, Patrick Painter, Jim Shaw
Mike Kelley was so significant here in the LA scene that it was almost taken for granted he was here. I had this feeling I would meet him some day, that I would get to know him through his local projects at West of Rome, where even if I didn't attend, I knew he was there, paving the way and that his work was affecting us. I missed a lof of his early work, but knew there was more coming in the future.
I have felt this way a few times in my life, where someone I didn't know, but felt like I did, where I thought I would get more them at least publicly if not personally, left too early. River Phoenix is one that comes to mind.
While it is mind boggling that he apparently committed suicide, it is a theme I have had to deal with. My brother is a quadriplegic and has thought of suicide many times on and off through out the years. It is incomprehensible to think of someone you love making that choice. Even when you understand the reasons, death is never easy for the living to accept. I truly feel for his friends and family.
Mike Kelley's work is left with us, his impact on his many students is visible in an unnameable amount of artists who followed him.
From: the MOCA website:
I believe that art is socially useful. If it is destructive, it is constructively so. What helps some, hurts others - all art is not made for the same audience. We are in a very restrictive period where many think it is necessary to narrow the limits of what is allowable, to set up a unitary reality and condemn the idea of multiple "realities." I support an art of multiplicity, which is why I am an "anti-classical" artist. In fact, I like to think that I make my work primarily for those who dislike it. I get pleasure from that idea.
- Mike Kelly
I don't know if we'll ever know what compelled him, but I know that he is already missed by many. Peace to you Mike Kelley, peace.
Also check out this homage to Mike Kelley that you can participate in:
https://www.facebook.com/events/315401798497384/
My post on his Gagosian show last year.
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