Kelly & Kelli Interview

(above) Kelli King's more recent works.

THE INTERVIEW.....

Kelly O: Kelli, you are interested in animation and thesis. Do you find yourself
focusing more one than the other?

Kelli K: Recently It's been a little bit difficult
to start painting. i've had quite a bit of time off from it. So i could say
that I've found myself focusing on animation a little bit more than
painting. I don't think I'm focusing more on animation than painting. It
more I hadn't decided what I'd really like to paint, and a lack of time to
paint. I interned at an animation studio this summer and that, as well as
working, took up a lot of my time. But I will say that I've had a bit of
difficulty getting back into painting.


Kelly O: Will you be using painting or animation for your work for the thesis
exhibition? How did you decide?

Kelli K: I'll be using painting for my thesis. It wasn't really a difficult decision,
more of a practical one. Our school doesn't have an animation program, so it
might be a little bit harder to be graded on it. Also I won't have very much
experience with the program, so I won't be able to as effectively make a
project with the 3D software as I could paint it. Haha not that it's just
practical reasons. I really like to paint, Just haven't had a really good
idea to paint.


Kelly O:What inspires your past and current work? Has your inspiration changed
as your work has developed?

Kelly K:The things that inspire my past and current work are narratives. I really
like to work based on some kind of story line, or else my pieces tend to
seem sort of random. I've done work based on reading peter pan. I also like
to do work based on ordinary themes, since I like art that people can relate
to. So I've also done scenes of places i've been. For my thesis I think that
I'm set on a theme based on transportation and different people's points of
view as they go from place to place. I'm kind of partial to the name "It
gets me where I'm going" as a title for the collection


Kelly O: Who are some artists that you look to for influence? What qualities
about these artists do you look at? Formal? Conceptual?

Kelli K: Artists... well I really like realist artists, but it's not very me. I have
looked for influe nce in artists like Hopper. I really admire his use of
light and the spaces that he paints. I also really identify with the
subjects he usually paints. Pretty normal houses, people, spaces, but there
usually seems to be some kind of story behind then. I've also Always liked
Degas. I love to draw people in motion, so the dancers were something I
immediately identified with. I also enjoy the idea of representing a short
moment in time the way he does, and many other impressionists do.


KellyO: Are there other things outside of the art world that inspire or
influence you?

Kelli K: I think there's plenty outside the world of art that inspires me. I'm
absolutely in love with looking at things. I believe that the world is full
of some pretty fantastic things when you take a moment to notice them. Like
spider webs in windows, or oil rainbows in parking lots, to be cliche. I
once took a picture of a little kid who got away from his mother in the
city. Best photo I ever shot, and if I hadn't been paying attention I would
have missed it.


Kelly O: What do you want the viewer or audience to get out of or feel from your
work?

Kelli K: I want the viewer to identify with my work. I want a person to look at
something I've painted and think of something in their own world. Example, I
painted a picture of the old side of the hoboken train station. For me,
hoboken's a city I like to take time to sit in myself, my parents met there,
friends have lived there, it's a nice place to be. I sold the painting to a
little old lady, who said she was giving it to a "little boy who loved
trains". She's like... 90 something, so i didn't realize that when she said
"little boy" she might mean young by comparison to her, but by no means
little. Turns out she bought it from me as a gift for her grandson, who was
happy to receive it because the very first apartment he had on his own was
in hoboken and he frequently took the train to work. And he put a lot of his
time and money into fixing the place up. So it was something he had a
personal memory to attach to, and I was very glad to hear it. Granted it
won't always be that direct, but it'd be nice if i can make people find some
connection to the work. I'll attach a picture of it


Kelly O:Is there a common theme or motif to your work?

Kelli K: common themes or motifs... hmmm... narratives... i seem to like to paint
scenes from the insides of cars, which isn't that surprising, i do a lot of
driving. all my paintings are kind of dark tone wise, because my favorite
color is french ultramarine... which turns everything black. But what I hear
most often is that I think narratively.


Kelly O: What will your thesis work be like? Do you think it will be similar to
your current work? Will you be exploring or developing some new or
different styles, concepts or mediums?

Kelli K: My thesis wasn't coming to me for weeks and I was getting worried, I knew I
was going to paint, but what. then one day, on the train, on the way to
chelsea, it hit me. I wanted to do something that has to do with my personal
believe that everyone sees differently. Seeing being as obvious as the fact
that i wear glasses and other people don't, or as abstract as a person's
beliefs affecting how they react to everyday situations. I wasn't sure how
to portray it, when it would be different brush work, or different colors,
different attention to detail. I thought I might paint one place and create
characters who interact with it differently. but I wasn't sure.
Then i thought what about when we're going from place to place. how often
are you in a friend's car and you notice little things like the radio
stations they keep, or that they keep lotion in the car, whether they play
cd's or tapes or plug in an ipod, hangers from the mirror, bumper stickers,
decals, whether they keep clothes in the car. lots of little things that
tell you about them. How often do you sometimes have that awkward moment at
a stop light where you meet gazes with the person in the car next to you,
what do you think of them, and them of you? I could go on and on and i
thought about extending it to trains, subways, busses, stops and stations...
everywhere people get together for the sole purpose of going somewhere else.
and i thought of what i always say about my car to my parents "it gets me
where i'm going". so i can create my characters and describe them by how
they present themselves, what they keep with them when they're on the move.
I've done a few paintings that have that kind of subject, so it'll be
interesting to take it further...


Kelli K: Tell me a little bit about yourself, and does anything in
your life effect the work that you do, or how you interact with artwork. as
you can see my life effects my work. It's always interesting to see how
other people bring themselves into their work.

Kelly O:Well I come from a white trash town and a family that doesn't belong to
live there. I am always trying to escape and explore new areas that I have
never been before. I have spent a good portion of my life in hospitals,
doctor's offices, specialist's conferences and clinics. I had five
reconstructive surgeries to fix my cleft palette. I would say this
reflects alot into my artwork because I find the organic shapes always
seem to resemble micro-organisms or some parts of cells. I discover new
towns and cities all the time and that seems to keep my ideas fresh.



Kelli K: What inspires your past and current work? Has your inspiration changed
as your work has developed?

Kelly O:You know what? Seriously the most random and simple things trigger
inspiration for me.I get ideas from a dream I had, a conversation I heard,
lyrics or rhythm from a song, graffiti, commercials or even a mood I am
in. It's blows my mind and assumes my friends greatly.


Kelli K: Who are some artists that you look to for influence? What qualities
about these artists do you look at? Formal? Conceptual?

Kelly O: I look at Klimp, Elizabeth Murray, Ellsworth Kelly, Hans Arp, Frank
Stella, Erik Parker, Tribal Art of African and Eskimo communities or
tribes. I look at all these artists for numerous reasons like the
structural aspects of Hans Arp, Frank Stella and Elizabeth Murray. I look
at Klimp and African and Eskimo tribes for patterns influence. I look at
Ellsworth Kelly for his color, concepts and shapes. I look at Elizabeth
Murray also for subject matter and concept.


Kelli K: Are there other things outside of the art world that inspire or
influence you?

Kelly O: Like I told you earlier, I draw influence from everywhere and at anytime.
The simplest way to explain it is like this; i look at a scene or fragment
of anything, simplify it to just shapes and add intricate organic shapes
or patterns by reducing the the colors to planes. It like a challenge I
give myself to occupy my brain, because I always seem to need to be
thinking, by picking something and then trying to disguise it by
simplifying everything beyond recognition.


Kelli K:What do you want the viewer or audience to get out of or feel from your
work?

Kelly O:I don't really expect the viewer or audience to get or feel anything from
my work in particular. I mean, how do I honestly know if what one person
is telling me is exactly what they got or felt the instant they saw my
piece. I wonder if our brains could really organize and store a thought
that quickly. However, if I was able to decide what people would get or
feel from my works, I would want a person to view my work and be reminded
of a memory, good or bad. I would satisfied with that because that is
exactly what happens to me when I look at my own work.


Kelli K: Is there a common theme or motif to your work?

Kelly O:I would have to say vibrant colors, geometric patterns and organic shapes
are reoccurring themes and motifs, depending on the series.


Kelli K:What will your thesis work be like? Do you think it will be similar to
your current work? Will you be exploring or developing some new or
different styles, concepts or mediums?

Kelly O: I basically want to push my current work to the extremes. I want push my
color theory to such a measure that your eyes hurt because they are so
madly confused by the color interaction. I want to develop my organic
shapes so they are beautifully intricate like lace. I want to explore
making my works on multiple panels and push them into low or high relief.
I want my thesis to maybe even give the viewer a glimpse into what exactly
birthed this inspiration. I want this body of work to some up exactly what
i have been trying to express for the last five years

Bucket of Blood

The film A Bucket of Blood was depicting the California Beat scene in the 1950s. It was a dark comedy about a busboy when struggles to become an artist. The busboy eventually gets his fame as an artist and respect from peers in the night club. He achieves his fame first by comically murdering his pet cat and covering in clay. His process then spirals out of control as he starts murdering people and,also, covering them in clay. He is later discovered and caught for his murderous ways. There is also an underlying love story between the busboy and the lead female in the film.

The film overall was a dark satire of the art world and comments on the desperateness some have to become part of the art world. At points I felt sorry for the busboy because all he wanted was to be accepted. Also, I wonder slightly if he was mentally handicapped. I found the portrayal of the artistic characters in the film were relevant to the era and universally accurate to some of the personalities encountered when traveling through the art world.

alex bagg

The video was humorous. I think everyone at some point has felt the same way that "alex bagg" did. Its the progression from clueless freshmen to educated senior. The clips in between the documentation of the semesters were hard to understand and I didn't see the relation. However, the bunnies were excellent. I think it was creative, insightful, witty. It is also a good representation of the journey made by young artists to receive that piece of paper that tells them that they are now aloud to do what they want to do as artists. CALL ME! Ha ha!

The New Museum

1st Floor-
Dorthy Iannone :Lioness
Iannone's exhibit is held in one room with paintings on the wall, cardboard figures in two display cases and forty-eight drawings with narratives displayed behind a glass panel on the left wall. The work has stylized influences from Egyptian hieroglyphics and mosaics that depict moments of intimacy and sexuality. Iannone removes the uncomfortableness and breaks through the social norms, regarding sex, in the video of her having an orgasm. The exhibit was hard to navigate through because I didn't exactly know where to begin and end.

2nd Floor-
Intersections Intersected : Photographs of David Goblatt
Goblatt's exhibition is held on two floors. This aspect alone made it hard to get through the exhibition because by the time you made it up to the other floor, more than likely, you were exhausted from the stairs. Nonetheless, the exhibit was set up the same way on both floors. The photographs were mounted on the wall about eye level, but the vast rooms the exhibit was held in made in slightly difficult to take it all in without feeling overwhelmed. The first floor was set up in sets of three color photographs, that provided a multiple perspective of a specific location in South Africa. On the second floor, the photographs were set up in pairs, color photographs were framed and black and white photographs were just matted, to show a comparison and progression in South Africa. The black and white photographs were of South Africa a few decades ago and the color photographs are of more recent times. These pairings show the development of some areas and the destruction of other areas throughout Golblatt's career documenting South Africa. Overall, the exhibit was an easy to view setup, excluding the exhausting stairs and overwhelming exhibition space.

Rigo 23-
I had no idea that the jail cells in the stairwell was even an installation. I thought they were some kind of an architectural aspect of the museum. So now knowing it was an installation, let me comment on it.....
There were jail cells installed on the stair case in the museum. They had years painted inside them. The years, I am assuming, were years that great political figures were imprisoned. I would have to wonder why it was installed on the stair case for two reasons. One, obviously, people will not easily notice it, like me. Second, how safe is it really putting an exhibit on a tight, narrow staircase? There is really no room to pass someone who would be observing the exhibit and could potentially send someone tumbling down the stair case. However, maybe this was the exact point of installing Rigo 23 on the staircase. Not the falling down the staircase part, maybe it was put there to show how many people did not notice or did not pay attention to it. The lack of attention to the exhibit perhaps commented on the lack of attention that some gave to great political figures being imprison. That is the most I can say about this exhibit. If I go back to the New Museum before it is taken down I will have another look at and hopefully derive a more solid opinion of the installation.