Art For All I heard that L.A. was built on dreams and fantasies.

on dreams and fantasies. I had in mind Swee’Pea from ‘Popeye’ meets 2010
All For Art April–May
Baby Ikki and its community could get behind that idea. Antonioni, this little baby that keeps moving along,
—Michael Smith, ar tist just barely avoiding danger. I wanted the baby alone
in a truck stop, the baby alone against vast distances.
—Mike Kelley, ar tist

M I K E K E L L E Y AND BABY IKKI

G O T O B URNING MAN ForYourArt, Vol. 3, No. 2
Angeleno Mike Kelley brings New Yorker Michael Smith’s longtime character Editor/Creative Director Bettina Korek
Baby Ikki back to where it all began. This epic installation is a two-and-a-half- Editorial Director Karen Marta
Editor Dan Nadel
hour six-channel video projected in a space dominated by utopian architecture Design Joel Speasmaker/Forest
and a giant Baby Ikki effigy, both designed by Kelley. A Voyage of Growth and Production Sarah Williams & Melissa Goldberg
Discovery debuted in New York in 2009 but now finds its home in Kelley’s studio,
Cover art: Mark Bradford, Untitled, 2007,
transforming what is usually a private space into an open forum for discovery and from his new book Merchant Posters
Production photographs at the Farley Building
community experience. Follow Baby Ikki as he wanders through the Burning Man
festival, observing the madness around him and bringing viewers ever closer to Information was correct at time of printing. We invite
readers to check event and exhibition information
the edge of fantasy and enlightenment. online, as dates and times are subject to change.

For more information go to westofrome.org.

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Baby Ikki at Burning Man. Photograph by Malcolm Stuart

F Y A MICHAE L S M I T H
PERFORMANCE AND INSTALLATION ARTIST
QUES
TION FYA spoke to Michael Smith about this latest project and his collaboration
Installation view at the Sculpture Center, New York. Photographed by Fredrik Nilsen Studio NAIRE with longtime friend Mike Kelley.

Why did A Voyage of Growth and Discovery seem like a good opportunity for
your first collaboration with Mike Kelley? Burning Man, or, as we refer to it, “the festival of radical free
MIKE KELLE Y S H A R E D E X C L U S I V E P R O D U C T I O N A RT W I T H F YA expression,” became a location of interest after Mike was thinking of staging a rave and having Baby Ikki
in the middle of it. But after considering it, he thought maybe Baby Ikki should just go out to the desert
where it seems like one big rave all the time. Mike started thinking about rave culture because of the
infantile accessories, like the pacifiers, etc.

Was Baby Ikki accepted (beyond what we see on screen) at Burning Man? Baby Ikki was more
ignored that accepted. So in a way he was accepted. No one got in his way; he could do his own thing.

L.A. seems made for Baby Ikki’s keen observations. In a way, it is. I heard that L.A. was built on dreams
and fantasies. Baby Ikki and its community could get behind that idea.

The architecture and artifacts within the space seem built on utopian visions. How did you two
arrive at the shapes and forms? Mike designed most of the installation after looking at the structures
of the various camps at the festival. Many of the structures are based on Bucky Fuller geodesic designs,
which are very efficient and practical for these temporary structures. As for the playground equipment,
the camps at the festival usually have some sort of theme attached to them. Since we were working with
Baby Ikki it seemed natural to use playground structures. I originally talked with Mike about doing a
A VOYAGE OF GROWTH collaboration after I had collaborated with Seth Price on a project called Playground at Emi Fontana’s
AND DISCOVERY gallery in Milan. I think it’s important to mention Emi’s role in this project. She was crucial in helping
move this project forward from its initial stages and keeping it alive. She even went to Burning Man to
BY MIKE KELLEY AND take part, observe, and make sure all went smoothly.
MICHAEL SMITH
How and when did you and Mike Kelley meet? Mike and I first met in 1975 when I did a performance
PRESENTED BY at The University of Michigan. We remained friends, and when I came out to perform in L.A. I stayed
W E S T O F R O M E P U B L I C A RT with him and we slowly became better friends.

OPENING MAY 26
KELLEY STUDIO
THE FARLEY BUILDING
1669 COLORADO BOULEVARD FYA LISTEN Dance Beats
LOS ANGELES 90041 for Baby, produced in
conjunction with A Voyage
of Growth and Discovery,
features throbbing techno
tracks like Beech-Nut Stage 1,
K-Y Hole, and Gerber Gerbil,
and is available on CD.

Production reference materials courtesy Mike Kelley Studio

Los Angeles 06 07 foryourart.com