Artist Lecture, Kenyon

Art 381 Mitch Murway Artist Lecture – Matt Kenyon Matt Kenyon is a multimedia artist with some very interesting ideas and political / socioeconomic statements to make. I really enjoy the idea of not hating the media, just becoming it. It raises a great point that if those of us that hated the media became directors and employees in the media, then the media would change for the better. In his piece, Spore he makes a great statement about the economic bubble burst through a house plant that either “lives” or “dies” based on data being fed to the apparatus that waters the plant based on Home Depot stock shift. Very compelling, and clearly stated… the entire country runs as this machine does…it’s just a beautiful and ingenious way of displaying the concept in a very simple form. Much like that statement and method made by “Clouds” where he uses imagery of clouds made from foam that take data used from the housing market, which also bubbled and burst heavily around the recession, in the Gallery, on the ceiling you see projections of houses, and as they lose their value or buoyancy they become dilapidated and foul looking. Again, another very good and simple representation of a concept many people fail to grasp in our dying economy. My last thought on a piece by Kenyon is about Puddle, which was a piece that really spoke volumes as well (most of Kenyon’s work is remarkably communicative). A puddle of black oil, that displays the names of car models that cause massive carbon footprints as you approach it. Multidimensional artwork that actually kind of speaks to a Monet inspiration of anti-aesthetic while also making a bold statement that adds to a sort of intellectual beauty. Overall, Kenyon is just a pretty remarkable artist, and his influence may actually make a difference in how future artists sway opinions of the public.