April Artist Spotlight: Interdisciplinary Initiator, Kelley Meister
April 20, 2016

* Hey Kelley, thanks so much for taking the time to do an interview! Can you tell us what your art forms are? Can you define them for us?
I am an interdisciplinary artist whose work combines drawing, video, and performance into installations and stand-alone films. My artistic practice relies upon the accumulation and exploration of what constitutes a landscape. I am interested in the natural and social ecosystems of environments – both as a means of exploration of artistic material and as a means of public engagement.


 * Do you remember when you first became interested in the arts? How did it happen? Did you have any big influences?
 I have been making art for as long as I can remember. My great-grandmother Hortense Kelley studied painting with Thomas Hart Benton; my grandmother was also a painter. Both of them were teachers as well. My mother is a writer and has taught composition at various community colleges over the years. Additionally, there are a lot of musicians and musical talent in my family. As a child, I took Bob Ross-style oil painting classes, ballet, and piano lessons. Throughout junior and senior high, I was an avid member of the band/orchestra. I thought I was going to become a professional musician, but I was overcome with anxiety the older I got every time I had an audition. I eventually gave it up when I went to college because I couldn’t handle the pressure of college auditions. I thought I was going to be a journalist/writer, but during my second semester of college, I took an Art Appreciation class and fell in love with feminist artists like Hannah Wilke, Carolee Schneemann, Ana Mendiata, and Claude Cahun. I wanted to use my body as the canvas, like these artists I admired, so I abandoned the Journalism school and shifted to fine art as my major. I haven’t looked back since, though my artistic mediums have spanned oil painting, watercolor, printmaking, papermaking, photography and film, and more recently, new media and animation with a secret ceramics practice on the side.

* What does teaching offer you that creating your own artwork does not?
 Working with other people to capture their creative visions is an ever-inspiring process. I am always so tickled by what my students make and how they choose to creatively solve the problems I set out for them. I am a very social person - and teaching is a great way to engage my social side with art-making. Growing strong relationships with each student is a priority in the work that I do. Each class is an opportunity to creatively collaborate and get to know so many new people and their creative expressions. I especially enjoy working with young people to make movies (live or animated). Older elementary school and higher students are discouraged from playing and imagining - but when making movies, students get to engage those creative muscles and really revel in the play of it. I deeply appreciate watching students go there and facilitating that process for them.

 * What do you hope participants of your programs learn or come away with?
 I want participants to come away with the idea that making art and being creative are rewarding endeavors in and of themselves, and that the process of getting from the beginning to the end of a project can be more valuable than the finished project. I also like to reinforce the moments in the creative process where participants have agency to make their own aesthetic or creative choices. I often emphasize the challenge that they are working on and that their job as the artist is to work through that challenge.

 * What projects or programs have you been working on recently?
 This winter I’ve been busy! I went up to Stephen and Argyle, Minnesota, which are about 50 miles from Canada and 25 miles from North Dakota, three times this winter to work with students from grades 3rd through 12th grade on making movies and digital stories. In March, I did a residency at Maxfield Elementary here in St. Paul making animations with the 4th grade. And I also did a couple quick animated gif workshops over in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, recently with middle schoolers.

* You’ve been on the COMPAS roster for about four years now, what’s it like to be a COMPAS artist?
 I love getting to meet people all over the state, share my art forms with them, and see what they make. It’s a dream job. I also really like that the people at COMPAS have my back. Before I was on the roster, I was getting teaching artist gigs on my own. I landed in a few tricky situations where I wished I had had the support of an organization behind me in validating my requests, whether it be for the equipment I needed to do the work or for financial negotiations. I also really enjoy getting to meet other COMPAS artists. When we get together for our annual meeting, I can feel the experience and creativity bursting out of the room.

* Why do you think arts education is needed in our community?
 Like I said in my bio earlier, I studied music in junior and senior high school. That was awesome, but I also really wanted to take fine art classes. There simply wasn’t room in my academic schedule for more than one art elective, though, and I always felt extremely frustrated with that. For me, the arts are vital to how I relate to the world, how I input and output information, how I synthesize information and ideas, how I engage as a citizen, and so forth. I see arts as the center point of academics - all other disciplines can be mediated, experienced, explored, and digested through the arts. As if other academic disciplines created a multi-pointed asterisk/star and the arts lie at the center focal point. I think that arts education has the possibility to open up a space to consider our ecological, social, economical context by working to reveal the complexity of our belief systems and the emotional responses that inform the decisions we choose to make. And for that reason, I believe it is indispensable.

 * In addition to your work at COMPAS, you also work at the Science Museum. Do you see benefits in teaching the arts and sciences simultaneously? What are they?
 My own art practice encompasses thorough research into historical and scientific topics as the starting point for most of my projects. Because of that, I really see art as a way to encourage community-dialogues about pertinent topics, using art to synthesize complex ideas into a digestible, thought-provoking package. I have never put much stock in the idea that academic disciplines are as separate as they are constructed to be within our current educational model. I think that the natural inquiry we all have about the world around us (aka “science”) is as vital to art-making as the skill of holding a brush or a pencil.

 * Does living in Minnesota have any influence on your work?
 Throughout my youth, my family relocated numerous times from coast to coast and throughout the Midwest due to my father’s job in the resource extraction industry. As a result, I have never been able to determine where I am actually “from.” During 2012, I worked at the Minnesota State Capitol as an historical interpreter, and while there, I learned more about Minnesota history than I had ever before been able to retain about any other place. That immersive year suddenly gave me a way of looking at this place, a lens of history with which to understand the present.

Recently, I started to integrate some of that research into my work. Starting in 2014, I began developing a three-channel interactive video installation Where Do We Go From Here? that explores the possibilities of what our planet, specifically Minnesota’s Upper Mississippi River Valley, will look like 150 years from now. Using scientific research and historical analysis, Where Do We Go From Here? combines hand-drawn animations with high-definition video of the Minnesota landscape and field recordings to imagine what the future may hold. I focused on the Upper Mississippi River Valley because it is a place of rich and stirring juxtapositions. At the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, sacred Dakota sites such as Mni Owe Sni – Coldwater Springs – stand alongside the nearly two-century-old Fort Snelling and the contemporary landmark of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Many places along its shores are still relatively wild, yet the river also serves as the location of two nuclear power plants and the largest coal-burning power plant in the state. In this work, I’m asking questions like Will the waters rise? Will the invasive species proliferate? Will the endangered survive? And what might be the ramifications of all this change?

* How do you practice creativity in your everyday life?
I think that making things and responding creatively to challenges is completely innate for me. I am a very intuitive artist, and I think that follows as well in my everyday life. I listen to my gut, I try to recognize the complexity of situations, and I create multiple possibilities for solutions or responses to the challenges I face. I think that way of thinking comes from being an artist, particularly from working as a conceptual artist.

We lost someone this week whose art I mostly loved, on occasion hated, and always felt pushed by: Jaime Carrera. He made provocative, weird art. The first time I saw him perform was the Choreographer's Evening in 2007? 2008? at the Walker Art Center. He stood naked in the middle of the stage except for a very long wig (like floor-length) and high heels. He swayed the hair back and forth then slowly posed in "muscle-man" poses. My parents, along with most other people there, couldn't stop talking about it. Nastalie and I were instantly in love and had to meet this person. Not long after, we performed with Jaime at countless cabarets and shows. He performed in my work, and I in his. The last work I saw of his was the most controversial, in my mind, I'd seen, at Patrick's Cabaret last June. I was offended and challenged by it. I didn't think it was one of his best pieces, nor did I think the offensive part was very purposeful or thought out, but it was Jaime. And I watched him revel in the controversy. I think, actually, that might even have been the last time I saw him. I wonder if he might have changed his mind about the piece as time passed, but now we'll never know. Nonetheless, I always felt very tender about him. In looking back through my archive, I found several very sweet exchanges between us over email and facebook. I am reflecting on how amazing it was that he agreed to be part of my 2010 Naked Stages piece. I think it wasn't really much his thing to be in other people's work, but for some reason, he said yes to me. Here's some excerpts:
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And here are a few of my favorite pieces of his:

Here's a quick sample of what I'm doing. By tilting the tablet in my hands, I can move the smaller animation (fox) around the screen. By moving some of the sliders on my tablet, I can change the scale, contrast, etc. Step 1 towards making my installation interactive!

I've been working hard on my Max/MSP/Jitter certificate program, and I want you to see what I've made! This Thursday, come to Harvestworks (596 Broadway, suite 602, Manhattan, 10012) from 7-9 pm and see the work-in-progress viewing of my interactive video installation.

Above is a quick sample of what I'm doing. By tilting the tablet in my hands, I can move the smaller animation (fox) around the screen. By moving some of the sliders on my tablet, I can change the scale, contrast, etc. This was Step 1 towards making my installation interactive!

Besides this, I've been very busy seeing lots of art, hanging with pals from around the country all gathered here for MIX, biking to Dead Horse Bay, hiking in New Jersey, and eating lots of delicious food. It's been a blast.

I'm in New York City to learn and see and explore and make, thanks to the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and the McKnight Foundation's Next Step Fund! As you can see from above, yesterday I spent the day at the ocean, given that 70 degree days in November don't come often - I took full advantage! I didn't get in further than my knees, but I could have - it was so much warmer than most of the lakes I swam in this summer.

Aside from the fun day at the beach, I've been holing up at Harvestworks diving in deep with Max/MSP/Jitter software. What the heck is that, you are probably wondering. In short, M/M/J will help make my video installations interactive - I am working on creating what is called a "patch" that will talk from my Android tablet to the computer running the videos and allow the viewer of the work to move the animals around, change videos, and potentially influence other environmental factors of the installation such as lights, sound, and so forth.

The fantastic Tommy Martinez is my mentor in this creation. He took a video of my project working that I'll upload later. Only a few days in and it is looking so good! Honestly, I feel surprised that this thing that I've been talking about for over two years is actually happening - that I am making the work do what I envisioned in my head! I've had many doubts along the way as whether what I wanted was even possible, so it's really special that I am being funded to make this happen!

Just a quick update about my art making and future projects! I have spent the last couple months mostly gearing up for an upcoming trip to NYC for my Next Step project. Stay tuned for more on that! 

Also, I've been working hard in the pottery studio - see the tea pot I made on the left. Making a tea pot was my goal project when I started taking pottery 2 years ago. I'm so proud of the little guy - and it works quite beautifully. It holds 2.5 cups of tea, it doesn't dribble when you pour, and the lid stays on snugly when it's tipped. Yep, that's quality workmanship!
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I've also been taking a lot of self-portraits lately. Harking back to 2004-6. I'm not sure what I'll do with them, but it's been fun to get dressed up and take pictures. Feeling very Cindy Sherman/Kathy Acker/Madonna/Siousxie Sioux lately, I guess!

Last week, I heard that I am a lucky recipient of an MRAC Next Step grant!! I am still working out the details, but I expect to be heading to NYC's Harvestworks to take classes some time this fall. Hoping I can make it line up with MIX!!

So with that good news under my belt, I've been working away on two baby side projects:

So while I'm not able to devote much time to my studio right now because of $work$ commitments, it feels good to have a few little things to work on. I've also been hitting the pottery wheel every week - and I'm getting better, so expect some photos from this spring's firings soon! xo

The momentum has been slowing lately, but I'm still chugging away. I've recently come to some new revelations about the work, so hopefully I'll get some time in the next month or two before summer camps swallow my life to bring them to fruition. In the meantime, check out these from January and February.

Also, I've been working on learning my parts and practicing my moves for this upcoming show by Annicha Arts. It happens to be the 3 days after my birthday - so come and wish me a happy birthday. It's been an incredible experience to work with Annicha Arts, Pramila, and the rest of the company and cast of awesome artists/movers/people. This is feeding me in ways I hadn't even imagined possible.

EVERY OTHER

Aniccha Arts premieres a 75-minute performance installation over a vast physical landscape at Grain Belt Studios. Every Other examines how the body is disciplined through personal, material, spatial and sociopolitical sites of tension. Composed of three movements, this interdisciplinary performance features a multi-racial cast that moves through an immersive sonic and light environment.

Date: 
May 7–May 9, 2015

Time:
8pm

Place:
Grain Belt Studios 
77 & 79 Thirteenth Avenue N.E., Minneapolis, MN, 55413

Tickets:
Pick your price (suggested $12)

Contact:
[email protected]

I'm swimming in pots! No, really. I have given a significant number away as birthday/thank you/etc gifts, but I've still got LOTS! And you could have some too, for yourself or to give as a birthday/thank you/etc gift. I'm selling pottery at a few upcoming craft-y type fairs, but also directly to you, my dear blog readers. Give me a ring/text/email, and let me know you're interested. If you're in MPLS, I'll hand-deliver. If you're outside of MPLS, let's talk about options. Prices are negotiable, but I'm aiming for around $10-15 per piece. I want to keep taking classes, and this seems the best way to make this a sustainable enterprise. I get all the joy of playing with clay, and you get to drink tea or eat cookies out of my pretty pots. 314[dash]308[dash]3985 (call or txt) or kelley[at]kelleymeister[dot]com.

Check out this lovely review of my work in the SooVac Exhibition ((up til Dec. 28th)) in MPLS:

For full article go here.