"Paul McCarthy — Mike Kelley." A Lecture by Irina Kulik

Date

Schedule

19:30–21:00

Place

Garage Education Center

DESCRIPTION

Irina Kulik will trace the practices of these eminent American artists who radically expanded the language of contemporary art and carried out a number of projects together.

Paul McCarthy (b. 1945) is a major contemporary artist, author of performances and installations exploring a plethora of current themes, including the limits of cultural and aesthetic possibilities. Often using ketchup, mayo, chocolate and other food products, as well as toys, puppets and mannequins as his materials, McCarthy creates explicit political statements with his works. His language is hugely naturalistic involving anthropomorphic images, which feels provocative and uncanny. More recently, the artist has been making monumental inflatable sculptures for public spaces: one of the most talked about among them became the 25-meter Tree installed on the Vendome Square in Paris in 2014. McCarthy is also author of a number of joint projects with friend Mike Kelley and other fellow artists.

Mike Kelley (1954–2012) is an iconic American artist, musician, art theorist and curator, one of the leading practitioners of his generation. Kelley’s work is closely associated with Los Angeles and Californian underground circles, as he was friends and collaborators with Paul McCarthy, Tony Oursler, John Miller and other like-minded artists. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was member of a number of bands, and in 1992 Kelley made an album cover for the acclaimed Sonic Youth album Dirty. Using a variety of artistic and everyday materials, he created installations and entire exhibition projects, collages and assemblages, graphic and sculptural series, videos and performances, which critiqued the hierarchies inherent in official and pop culture and celebrated the freedom of underground art. Mike Kelley committed suicide at the height of his career in 2012.

ABOUT THE LECTURER

Irina Kulik, PhD is an art critic, culture expert, lecturer at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), and author of numerous publications on contemporary art, cinema, and music.

HOW TO TAKE PART

Entrance is free, but space is limited. Please arrive early.

Please note that the lecture cycle will be conducted in Russian without translation into English.

Priority booking for GARAGE cardholders. Please send requests to members@garagemca.org