Artist Research - Mike Kelley


Mike Kelley was an American artist known for his work involving found objects, textiles, collage and performance, which commented on American class, youthful rebellion and popular culture.

I'm interested in this piece called 'ah... youth.', which is a series of photographs of stuffed animals taken in an ID portrait style. The signs of wear over time are visible on the toys' faces as they sit squarely in front of the camera, while a portrait of the artist himself is present among them showing visible acne that implies adolescence.
The idea of children's toys sitting to have their photos taken professionally feels ironic and humourus, I like that they are given a sense of identity and personality as if they're living beings. They look like they have been through a lot and have many stories to tell. These ideas of childhood and time are something I'd like to explore in my project, and I feel inspired to do my own photoshoot of old toys I have at home.


'Ahh... Youth'

This artwork became quite iconic as the knitted orange creature was fittingly featured on the cover of the Sonic Youth album, 'Dirty'.

 

These are some water colour sketches I did of the 'ahh... youth' piece. I found something really endearing about the stuffed animals and it made me want to draw them, and doing it on a small scale reminded me of when you get your passport photos printed in a little grid of multiples.



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