Interviews, Conversations, and Chit-Chat, 1986-2004

by John C. Welchman (Editor)

What do Mike Kelley and his cronies and sometime collaborators Jim Shaw, Paul McCarthy, and Tony Oursler talk about when they talk about art? You'll have to crack this book to find out, but expect a heady mix of pop culture, sex, violence, politics, and, as always, a strong dose of humor. This volume brings together for the first time Kelley's major interviews with those artists and others over the past 18 years. Kelley is naturally a provocative commentator on his own work and the work of others, but he's also an informed and serious student of his interviewees' oeuvres and asks questions that explore the soul of artistic imagination. Surrealism, the 60s, and institutional cowardice provide fodder for these fascinating conversations.

Genres: Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2005

Reviews

[nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not want to return home, return to the 9-6, return to a doubtful living that spans another year.

Because the Deitch Galleries in LA decided to take an extended Christmas break well into the new year, I missed the Kelley and McCarthy show. Instead I went to the Geffen Contemporary for the Olafur Eliasson show to flesh out a gloomy afternoon.

It was in the library did I come across this book and sit and sit and read and read until the museum closed. I finished it. Happy to have found some of my favorite people have talked with Kelley himself (ie. John Waters and Harmony Korine).

There was even an interview with Larry Clark, where he spoke of getting to the work, getting it done, having it done, he said,

“..𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧 ... 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.”

Action replaces thought. Thought becomes ceaseless because it exists as a physical object. A gallery show. A monograph. Money. Recognition. Pleasure.

I often wonder when it’ll be my time. I often wonder if it’ll ever get easier. I often let wonder roam my mind until it gets a bit bored or lost and lets itself go and veers off into petty loitering. It bums in the corner of my mind hidden under cheap scaffoldings, until I forget about it, until it forgets about itself and then I curl up and weep and think when will this life begin. Never giving into action is the only sin worth regretting.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really dug the format that spans from formal to sometimes shit interview to a conversation amongst colleagues and friends to literally chit chat. The first interview for the book between Kelley and Whelchman sets things up nicely for the interviews that proceed, laying claim to the inherent constraints of the process itself.
However Paul McCarthy is not interviewed at all and I don't know why the description of the book on goodreads says otherwise. Weird.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

so l.a.

[Scmoyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

my favorite kind of dopey

[Erin Tuzuner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting, if a bit obnoxious, series of interviews with some well known hipsters in the art world. Ranging from pretentious to scripted, engaging to filler, this read was a bit dry.