Ex. Credit Event 1 - Hammer - Mary Reid Kelley

In my time at UCLA, I have taken four Classics courses and through them I have learned the importance and impact ancient Greek and Roman myths have in modern art and literature.  In watching Mary Reid Kelley's three part piece, it is clear that she is using this classic tradition in a way that not only comments on modern society but also creates a work which references many others in it's telling.  What was surprising to me was her role in the work, playing all the characters separately, and working in conjunction with her husband Patrick, editing all of the pieces together to create a surprisingly complete and seamless work.










  

In modern art it's incredible to me how much effort can go into making a production appear simplified and elementary.  Kelley's style choices made the characters look almost comic-book like.  She uses bold contouring on characters to accentuate features in a way that could be influenced by Lichtenstein.  There are references throughout this piece, she cites Picasso as a main influence in her overly basic and geometric character and set design.  This however is not where this work intersects with the science world.

Mary and Patrick Kelley together created this style through a series of editing and green screen effects which give the impression of cartoonish, almost intentionally tacky style.  By then putting the work entirely in greyscale they make it a sort of hybrid between new age comic strip brought to life and a classic sitcom with the lighting of a noir piece.  The combination of these things was really highlighted with flawless editing and layering of Mary's role as every character.  This to me is a remarkable feat in melding these things together with technological down playing.

I've seen through lecture and my own research on our various topics how reliant new age art is on the tech revolution.  Modern film making and editing is a product of the microprocessor revolution and the exploration into nanotech as a way of producing sensors, computing power, and the technologies that have come about as a result.  The software available to modern film producers and editors today allows for the most artistic freedom and creativity in history.  The fact that these two have used this technology to combine styles is only possible because of these advancements.  To me it is almost an ode to classical works while maintaining progressive messages and clever dialogue.

Works Cited

Boucher, Brian. "Art In America." Mary Reid Kelley. Art in America Magazine, 13 Nov. 2009. Web. June 2015. <http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/reviews/mary-reid-kelley/>.

"Mary Reid Kelley | ART21." Mary Reid Kelley | ART21. ART21, n.d. Web. June 2015. <http://www.art21.org/artists/mary-reid-kelley>.

"Mary Reid Kelley." Mary Reid Kelley. N.p., n.d. Web. June 2015. <http://www.maryreidkelley.com/>.

REES, ALLYSON. "Mary Reid Kelley Reimagines Mythology from a Woman's POV." Los Angeles Confidentials RSS. Los Angeles Confidential Magazine, Sept. 2014. Web. June 2015. <http://la-confidential-magazine.com/living/articles/mary-reid-kelley-reimagines-mythology-from-a-womans-point-of-view>.

Sherwin, Skye. "The Myth of Mary Reid Kelley." W Magazine. N.p., 15 Sept. 2014. Web. June 2015. <http://www.wmagazine.com/culture/art-and-design/2014/09/mary-reid-kelley-artist/photos/>.

Thomson, Allese. "Mary Reid Kelley Discusses Her Latest Exhibition." Artforum.com. N.p., 14 Aug. 2013. Web. June 2015. <http://artforum.com/words/id=42417>.