But the idea of transformation has always been something that I romanticize in a work. I’m cautious of it but I also need it to connect my thoughts with the process of making. That’s really important.
—
Nari Ward
Remembering: Keith Sonnier by Betsy Sussler
- Gilles Peress by Carole Kismaric
- Matthew Ritchie by Jenifer Berman
- Tim Roth by Gary M. Kramer & Steve Buscemi
- Amy Hempel by Suzan Sherman
- Kendall Thomas by Lynne Tillman
- Christian Wolff by Damon Krukowski
- Emmylou Harris by Lucinda Williams
- George Walker by Stephen Haff
- Wallace Shawn by Patrick McGrath
Interviews
- Remembering: Wolf Kahn by Stanley Moss
Artists on Artists
- Bruiser by Richard House
- Untimely Meditations by Saul Williams
- Brothers Keep Me Up by Suheir Hammad
- Jupiter by T'Kalla
- Two Poems by Tai Allen
- Memory of Loss by Amanda Means
- Wolf Soup by Vijay Seshadri
- Brooklyn Moon Cafe Poets by Zoë Anglesey
- Two Poems by Connie Deanovich
- Nosotros Necesitamos Zapatos Para Zapatistas by Federico Perez
- Van Gogh’s Bad Café by Frederic Tuten
- Sid by Jah'ni
- Jazz by Jasiri
- The Sweetest Revolutionary by Jessica Care Moore
- Kill Kill Faster Faster by Joel Rose
- Requiem by Kathy Acker
- The Keepsake by Kirsty Gunn
- Two Poems by Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie
First Proof
- Vikram Chandra’s Love and Longing in Bombay by Betsy Sussler
- Cédric Klapisch’s When the Cat’s Away by Liza Béar
- Patrick McGrath’s Asylum by Betsy Sussler
- Linda Yablonsky’s The Story of Junk by Lynne Tillman
- Rick Moody’s Purple America by Betsy Sussler
- Fernanda Eberstadt’s When the Sons of Heaven Meet the Daughters of Earth by Anney Bonney
- Robert Antoni’s Blessed is the Fruit by Jenifer Berman
- Yannick Murphy’s Sea of Trees by Suzan Sherman
- Kula Shaker: Retroculture by Lynn Geller
- Brad Mehldau by Zoë Anglesey
- Carolee Schneemann: Like a Cat on a Fish by Darryl Turner
- Judith Belzer by Jack Stephens
- Ingrid Calame by David Pagel
- Don Gast’s When We Were Kings by Jenifer Berman
- John Singleton’s Rosewood by Susan Shacter
- David Lehman’s Valentine Place by Robert Polito
- Bradford Morrow’s Giovanni’s Gift by Jim Lewis
Editor's Choice
Discover MFA Programs in Art and Writing
Keith Sonnier, still from Color Wipe, 1973, color videotape, 30 minutes with sound. Peformed by Tina Girouard.
Keith Sonnier, Depose, Cat Doucet Series, 1996, mixed media with argon and electric light, 56 x 30 x 18 inches. All images courtesy the artist and Leo Castelli Gallery.
Calligraphy drawn from the age of satellites beaming and technology blaring, Keith Sonnier’s sculptures, urban neon and country trash, fuse the detritus of popular western culture with the suggestiveness of eastern imagery. Best known for his neon sculptures, Sonnier also pioneered early video art and installation which captured the razzmatazz of our new found infatuation for digital dreaming. Vertical roll, black, neon and strobe light; dancers, musicians, computer language, television broadcast and satellite transmission form the visual and aural vernacular of his tapes and films, recently gathered under the title, Channel Mix.
Keith Sonnier, Atchafalalaya, Cat Doucet Series, 1996, neon, argon lighting, steel, 80 x 48 x 9 inches.
Keith Sonnier, Animation II, 1974, ¾ inch color videotape, 25 minutes with sound.
Related
Like his older compatriot Mark Leckey, Atkins deftly utilizes syncopated montages of sounds and filmic images to create disturbing and disorienting virtual realities.
With contributions from Naeem Mohaiemen, Martha Rosler, Devin Kenny, Swoon, and more.
“A good part of our work is about giving materiality to things that aren’t visible.”
Originally published in
BOMB 59,
Spring 1997
Featuring interviews with Tim Roth, Amy Hempel, Emmylou Harris, Matthew Ritchie, Wallace Shawn, Christian Wolff, Gilles Peress, Kendall Thomas, and George Walker.
