Artist Blog

Every week an artist whose single image was published by Der Greif is given a platform in which to blog about contemporary photography.

Today I'd like to share with you the work of Forest Kelley, who was a graduate student at the Rhode Island School of Design while I was studying there. The images I've shared here are from Kelley's ongoing series Michael, which investigates the life of his uncle, a gay man and artist who committed suicide in 1985, just as HIV/AIDS was entering the gay male consciousness. He writes of the project: "Through the series Michael, I associate myself with the history of homosexual men living in the epoch between the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 and the death of Rock Hudson by AIDS in 1985. More specifically, I trace the experiences of my uncle Michael, a gay man and artist whose adult life was bookended by these landmark events in queer history. Michael was found dead at the base of a rock ledge—a presumed suicide—on June 14th, 1985, shortly after the first test for HIV antibody was licensed by the Food and Drug Administration in March 1985. However, circumstantial evidence is of little consolation to those who live in the wake of untimely passing. This work is less concerned with finding answers; its preoccupation is to contend with the unknowable, to illustrate the memories, dreams, speculation, hopes, and fears that continue to resonate. It is an attempt to do exactly what I cannot: to be alive within all of the trappings of another's subjectivity—to illustrate internal images with external ones." Over the years I studied parallel to Kelley, I saw this project evolve continuously, but it wasn't until I saw him actually present on his work, and his process, that I understood how thoroughly, and tirelessly, he pushed deeper into his exploration of his subject over a period of many years. His dedication to learning as much as possible about this period in history - and the details of Michael's life - really made an impression on me. Often as artists (and especially as art students!) we are encouraged to push it further, expand and explore deeper into our subjects, and this is a project that reminds me what can happen when an artist does that really well. Kelley seemed to be constantly traveling to make new images, and the displays of his work - stunning, vivid 40x50 prints, often without glass - often incorporated sculptural elements as well. The selection of images above showcase only a small part of Kelley's impressive series, so please visit his website to see the work in its entirety.