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Mike Kelley — Poetry of Form: Part of an Ongoing Attempt to Develop an Auteur Theory of Naming
Mike Kelley

Poetry of Form: Part of an Ongoing Attempt to Develop an Auteur Theory of Naming

A grid of 34 black-and-white photographs encased in painted wood and Plexiglas frames, this work by Mike Kelley investigates the relationship between language, identity, and cultural categorization. Kelley's characteristic blend of deadpan humor and critical theory surfaces through the work's cumbersome, self-reflexive title, which itself becomes part of the piece's conceptual fabric. The serial, systematic presentation of the gelatin silver prints reflects Kelley's ongoing interrogation of institutional structures and the often arbitrary systems humans use to impose meaning and order.

Medium
34 gelatin silver prints, in painted wood and Plexiglas frames

🔨 Auction Lot

Contemporary Art Day Sale

May 17, 2013

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About this work

Mike Kelley, Poetry of Form: Part of an Ongoing Attempt to Develop an Auteur Theory of Naming

A grid of 34 black-and-white photographs encased in painted wood and Plexiglas frames, this work by Mike Kelley investigates the relationship between language, identity, and cultural categorization. Kelley's characteristic blend of deadpan humor and critical theory surfaces through the work's cumbersome, self-reflexive title, which itself becomes part of the piece's conceptual fabric. The serial, systematic presentation of the gelatin silver prints reflects Kelley's ongoing interrogation of institutional structures and the often arbitrary systems humans use to impose meaning and order.

Medium
34 gelatin silver prints, in painted wood and Plexiglas frames
Seen at
Phillips, New York, London, Hong Kong

Related themes

Analytical Mood, Institutional Critique, Male Artist, Archival Medium, Conceptual Art, Black and White Photography, Contemporary Artist, American Artist, Series Format, Text-Based Art

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