Torbett Blog Topic -Art:21 Mike Kelley

The Artist that I chose for the Art:21 Series was Mike Kelley.  His primary focus was on using memory to create art.  Mike Kelley passed away in 2012, and there was a nice memorial tribute to him on the site, which included additional interviews with Art:21.  He received his BFA from the University of Michigan and his MFA from California Institute of the Arts.  He created memory pieces by using highly symbolic ritualistic performances and stuffed animal sculptures.  He also creates paintings and models.  In referencing the questions posed, I came to these attributes:

1.  How will you help students connect the enduring idea to the students' lives?

I chose Mike Kelley's works because they are indirectly involved with High School (which I will get to shortly).  Using memory is vitally important to connecting to any works of art.  Having students act out visual interpretations through dance or perfomance can utilize repetition, which enhances memory and serves as aesthetic understanding.

2.  How will you build students' knowledge base about the enduring idea as it relates to other content areas as well as to life?

We are all ritualistic people.  A student's knowledge base could be built upon realistic values.  A ritualistic approach to connects developmental processes can be attributed to creativity and art making. 

3.  How will you build students' knowledge bas about enduring ideas as they occur in art.

Kelley suggests in his documentary that there is a perception that all work is created through "repressed trauma."  We can adopt principles of art criticism while viewing his work such as Art:21 Sessions.  Also, view his work titled 12 seasons, in which ovals were painted in efforts to show endlessness, and black space was used to represent "missing time."  The 12 Seasons is a symbolic series of work which represents his abuse as a child and reoccurring trauma that he faced in life.

4.  How will you engage students with exploring, questioning, and problematizing  the enduring idea through artmaking?

Kelley shows an interesting work in which he recreated models of all schools that he attended as a child, including his childhood home.  The interesting approach is seen when he purposely left out rooms and other portions of the structure that he doesn't remember. This symbolism is used to project the power of memory.  What we have and what was lost.  Students could be asked to recreate certain pieces from memory, and only focusing on what is remembered.  Also, Kelley uses what he calls "past high school rituals" such as Prom, Dances, Homecoming, etc.  He recreates them from memory.  Maybe students could create storyboards, backdrops, props focusing on how these so called rituals would be conducted in their own right.  Also, they could create their own soundtrack using what Mike Kelley calls noise makers.

Kelley was an interesting study.  I enjoyed this artist.