 Radioactive // Fallout Shelter 2018 12’ 9” x 5’ Charcoal, pastel, colored pencil, and ink on paper In case you missed it, I've got big, big drawings up at 801 N Washington Ave. in Minneapolis. I'm really proud of these giant drawings, and I really want you to get to see them in their giant glory! They're all part of my larger project, Last Vacation Before the End of the World, which is a multimedia exploration into life in the nuclear age. 801 Gallery doesn't have open hours, so if you want to come see my work (and the other 3 artists: Jaffa Aharonov, Josie Winship, and Marc Lamm), here are your options:
P.S. All work in the show is for sale!
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At least It's Not a Nuclear Winter...
Come out, come out, this Saturday to see my new drawings! (SCROLL FOR DETAILS)
Find out why I'm erasing so much!
See why I've been buying all the yellows Wet Paint has to offer!
801 Gallery
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 | Last Vacation Before the End of the World (Part 1)Wednesday, June 14, 2017 doors 7pm, show 8pm Bryant-Lake Bowl 800 W Lake St, Mpls sliding scale tickets: $8-15 www.bryantlakebowl.com OR (Fee Free): 612-825-8949 |
I want you to think about the end of the world.* Where will you go when the bombs fall? What songs will you serenade it with? What will you bring? As a companion to the premiere of “Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds,” I would like to invite you to accompany me on our Last Vacation Before the End of the World (Part 1), June 14, 2017.
*world as we know it, an anthro-centric view, shall we say
*world as we know it, an anthro-centric view, shall we say
Future: Made HereOn view May 4-Aug 30, 2017 6th & Hennepin, Mpls Launch Party: Thursday, May 4, 2017 5-8pm AC Hotel by Marriott 401 Hennepin Ave, Mpls Showcase Tours at 6 & 7PM |  |
On view May 4, 2017-August 30, 2017: Where Do We Go From Here?, a three-channel video collage installation that explores the possibilities of what Minnesota and the Upper Mississippi River Valley will look like 150 years from now. More info here.
Feminist Video Quarterly |  |
See Crush Project (2007) at Feminist Video Quarterly, #6. What does it mean to be crushing? And why are they so crushing? This project explores the development of a crush, sharing intimately with the audience my crushes, objects I've given and received from crushes, and other tidbits as an homage to Sadie Benning, my ultimate artist-crush.
Jerome Travel/Study 2017 Recipient - Stay Tuned!
In Spring 2018, I will be traveling throughout the southwest US to research nuclear testing sites, thanks to the Jerome Travel/Study fund.
I am so excited and mildly terrified to see these places in person. This research will inform a longer version of “Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds” , Part 2 of Last Vacation Before the End of the World, and much more work in the future.
I am so excited and mildly terrified to see these places in person. This research will inform a longer version of “Now I am Become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds” , Part 2 of Last Vacation Before the End of the World, and much more work in the future.
password: nuke
From the BBC - a great video on world nuclear proliferation - I can't embed it, but follow this LINK.
As August exits this year to September, I realize I am full of memories from my residency in Red Wing, MN, in August 2014. I documented it on my old website blog (archive here - it's a little clunky b/c the wordpress formatting is lost to time - if you get an error message, just change the "www" to "archive" in the URL and you should be back in business), but I wanted to bring back some highlights.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Greetings from Red Wing, Minnesota. I am spending the month of August at the Anderson Center, enjoying lots of time to work and think and be and dream and relax and make and do and photograph and draw and film and paint and read and research and and and and and and…!
I am also refamiliarizing myself with this area – rereading Mni Sota Makoce. As always, when I spend time in the landscape, I think about what’s different and what’s the same…which trees might have been around before the white settlers first occupied this Dakota homeland, which bluffs and islands are still visible and which have been destroyed or eroded, what the waterways might have looked like several hundred years ago and how they look and are used now. Forts were built in this area – one possibly on what is now Prairie Island, just up the Mississippi River from Red Wing and current site of the Prairie Island Reservation and the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant – ostensibly to help peace efforts with the Ojibwe and Dakota. Reflecting on the U.S.’s 200+ year history of starting conflicts through covert and overt means and then strategizing “peace negotiations” so that we have the best outcome of resources at our disposal – from the land I write this on to much of the countries in Latin America throughout my childhood and on into much of the Middle East as I entered adulthood. Thinking about imperialism and what it means to be an artist living in the comfort of paid residencies in this imperialist nation as I wonder how much longer we can continue to be at the “top” of this precarious ladder.
Greetings from Red Wing, Minnesota. I am spending the month of August at the Anderson Center, enjoying lots of time to work and think and be and dream and relax and make and do and photograph and draw and film and paint and read and research and and and and and and…!
I am also refamiliarizing myself with this area – rereading Mni Sota Makoce. As always, when I spend time in the landscape, I think about what’s different and what’s the same…which trees might have been around before the white settlers first occupied this Dakota homeland, which bluffs and islands are still visible and which have been destroyed or eroded, what the waterways might have looked like several hundred years ago and how they look and are used now. Forts were built in this area – one possibly on what is now Prairie Island, just up the Mississippi River from Red Wing and current site of the Prairie Island Reservation and the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Plant – ostensibly to help peace efforts with the Ojibwe and Dakota. Reflecting on the U.S.’s 200+ year history of starting conflicts through covert and overt means and then strategizing “peace negotiations” so that we have the best outcome of resources at our disposal – from the land I write this on to much of the countries in Latin America throughout my childhood and on into much of the Middle East as I entered adulthood. Thinking about imperialism and what it means to be an artist living in the comfort of paid residencies in this imperialist nation as I wonder how much longer we can continue to be at the “top” of this precarious ladder.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
The first half of the month was endless sunny days, and the second half was rolling thunderstorms. Both completely enjoyable. I feel truly grateful to have had this opportunity – to take a break from life, from $jobs$, from alarm clocks, from cooking dinners, from the city, and from major responsibilities beyond taking care of myself and making art. This is my third residency, and it was by far the most productive, inspiring, and fun one thus far. Part of it was the luck of having a really excellent group of people as co-residents – sharing a big house and kitchen is just a lot more enjoyable when you like all the people you share it with. It’s kind of a fish bowl – plus you never know who will be there with you, as that is dependent on those who read your applications. I really lucked out because the most wonderful and amazing artist AriCoco was my next door neighbor (in home and in the studios)! Dream-team!
The first half of the month was endless sunny days, and the second half was rolling thunderstorms. Both completely enjoyable. I feel truly grateful to have had this opportunity – to take a break from life, from $jobs$, from alarm clocks, from cooking dinners, from the city, and from major responsibilities beyond taking care of myself and making art. This is my third residency, and it was by far the most productive, inspiring, and fun one thus far. Part of it was the luck of having a really excellent group of people as co-residents – sharing a big house and kitchen is just a lot more enjoyable when you like all the people you share it with. It’s kind of a fish bowl – plus you never know who will be there with you, as that is dependent on those who read your applications. I really lucked out because the most wonderful and amazing artist AriCoco was my next door neighbor (in home and in the studios)! Dream-team!
Sunday, August 31, 2014 (cont.)
In terms of my art, I took 938 photos (there’s still 12 hours left, so I’m hoping to hit 1K!), 25 movies, and made 22 different animation tests (most of which can be found here or just look back through my blog posts). I painted a 20 foot long gouache/watercolor painting, drew a couple hundred animals (rabbits, bears, squirrels, coyote, foxes, bats, and mosquitoes) with both my left and right hands, made 3 potholders and 5 shrinky-dinks, and gave myself one very tiny tattoo!
In terms of my art, I took 938 photos (there’s still 12 hours left, so I’m hoping to hit 1K!), 25 movies, and made 22 different animation tests (most of which can be found here or just look back through my blog posts). I painted a 20 foot long gouache/watercolor painting, drew a couple hundred animals (rabbits, bears, squirrels, coyote, foxes, bats, and mosquitoes) with both my left and right hands, made 3 potholders and 5 shrinky-dinks, and gave myself one very tiny tattoo!
Sunday, August 31, 2014 (cont.)
I rode my bicycle so many miles on the Cannon Valley Trail, enjoyed scenic walks and hikes around Red Wing, and spent much time just sitting outside (or in the huge screened-in porch) watching the chipmunks/gophers run around and the monarchs flutter. While there was a dearth of swimming this month, I did spend much time near the Mississippi and Cannon Rivers. I spent several evenings climbing the 76 steps up to the top of the water tower to take photos of the clouds rolling over the ridges and the sun setting behind them.
I rode my bicycle so many miles on the Cannon Valley Trail, enjoyed scenic walks and hikes around Red Wing, and spent much time just sitting outside (or in the huge screened-in porch) watching the chipmunks/gophers run around and the monarchs flutter. While there was a dearth of swimming this month, I did spend much time near the Mississippi and Cannon Rivers. I spent several evenings climbing the 76 steps up to the top of the water tower to take photos of the clouds rolling over the ridges and the sun setting behind them.
Sunday, August 31, 2014 (cont.)
And yes, that is the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Generator on the horizon – hashtagFULLCIRCLE. In other news – I spent an hour at the Goodhue County Historical Society yesterday reading up on the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Generator. I learned a lot of really interesting things, but my favorite story I found was about all the protests in the early 90s against storing radioactive waste onsite (which the plant did end up doing – and still does FYI), like the one in August 1992 that was “sponsored by the Minnesota Green’s conference, the Twin Cities Anarchist Federation, the Prairie Island Coalition against Nuclear Storage and other groups, met on the West Bank at Murphy Square and proceeded to NSP headquarters to protest what they called, ‘NSP’s rascist attempt to store radioactive waste at Prairie Island.’”
And yes, that is the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Generator on the horizon – hashtagFULLCIRCLE. In other news – I spent an hour at the Goodhue County Historical Society yesterday reading up on the Prairie Island Nuclear Power Generator. I learned a lot of really interesting things, but my favorite story I found was about all the protests in the early 90s against storing radioactive waste onsite (which the plant did end up doing – and still does FYI), like the one in August 1992 that was “sponsored by the Minnesota Green’s conference, the Twin Cities Anarchist Federation, the Prairie Island Coalition against Nuclear Storage and other groups, met on the West Bank at Murphy Square and proceeded to NSP headquarters to protest what they called, ‘NSP’s rascist attempt to store radioactive waste at Prairie Island.’”
Preparatory stills for "Now I am become Death..."
This summer has been flying by, and I am frantically trying to catch up and get back on schedule. I have this week off from work, so I am treating it like a mini-residency, devoting many hours every day to the studio (or the MN Historical Society Research Library). I'm trying to get a handle on the bigger picture, as I'm feeling swallowed up by the minutiae and stumbling to find the next step always. At the same time, I'm trying to embrace the intuitive process that I know works best for me. I saw the director of Born in Flames (Lizzie Borden) speak at the Walker Art Center in June about taking 5 or something years to make that movie and that she just filmed and made decisions along the way, and it made me feel empowered to make this movie the way I work best - intuitively rather than so planned out and preconceived. Not that I need 5 years, though, hopefully!
experiments with green screens
So I'm concentrating on creating the images and trusting that I can edit them together in the way I want after I make them. Truely nonlinear editing.
I'm doing a lot of experiments currently, thinking about possibilities of taking the images beyond the confines of that little sheet of aged newsprint - such as tearing it, using green screen to insert archival footage into the torn bits, growing/shrinking its size, inversing the color of the images, trying out other methods like cyanotypes to make images - are they more radioactive looking? for certain scenes, and tinting the paper with watercolor, etc.
I'm doing a lot of experiments currently, thinking about possibilities of taking the images beyond the confines of that little sheet of aged newsprint - such as tearing it, using green screen to insert archival footage into the torn bits, growing/shrinking its size, inversing the color of the images, trying out other methods like cyanotypes to make images - are they more radioactive looking? for certain scenes, and tinting the paper with watercolor, etc.
experiments with inversing
I'm also hanging out at the MN Historical Society's research library this week and getting some more info on the stuff here in Minnesota - the power plants, the protests, etc. Which will hopefully prove fruitful.
Between my heart being in so many different places this summer - from Philando Castile's shooting north of St. Paul (who was a friend of a friend and a member of the educator community I am part of here) to the resistance to the oil pipelines in North Dakota and Minnesota to theclimate change caused flooding in Louisiana to the anniversary of Michael Brown's shooting in Ferguson and just so so so much more, it's been hard to stay focused. I've been distracting myself with screenprinting silly cat shirts and students' designs when it gets to hard to think about nuclear annihilation on top of all the above and all that's happening in the world and in my heart.
Between my heart being in so many different places this summer - from Philando Castile's shooting north of St. Paul (who was a friend of a friend and a member of the educator community I am part of here) to the resistance to the oil pipelines in North Dakota and Minnesota to theclimate change caused flooding in Louisiana to the anniversary of Michael Brown's shooting in Ferguson and just so so so much more, it's been hard to stay focused. I've been distracting myself with screenprinting silly cat shirts and students' designs when it gets to hard to think about nuclear annihilation on top of all the above and all that's happening in the world and in my heart.
screens from the 2016 T-Shirt Artists camp at the Science Museum of Minnesota
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experiments with cyanotypes and photoshop
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Kelley Meister
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