Thanks for Four Years of Awesome
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Blogged Around Philly: Farewell Edition
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This week we're profiling ArtIST Colin Keefe, co-director of Mount Airy Contemporary Artists Space. A graduate of Washington University and Cranbrook Academy of Art with degrees in sculpture, Keefe's current concentration is in drawing. But, these aren't your everyday, run-of-the-mill doodles. Rather, the drawings "[explore] methods for breeding urban environments using organic models—multicellular organisms' reproductive and propulsion strategies, as well as pollination methods employed by plants." While we're not sure exactly what that means, we're nonetheless fans of Keefe's series of pen and ink drawings. Keep reading to learn more about Keefe and his "organic" method of urban planning.
You current series of ink-on-paper drawings "depict cities grown organically, without an 'urban planner' as protagonist, based on environmental conditions." What is your intended message?
That everything evolves organically, including cities, including social structures. That what's true evolutionarily speaking is true at all scales—the microscopic to the macroscopic. I admire the urban planning profession, but I think what's more interesting in cities is what happens as a product of accident or serendipity.
How would you describe your work in five words?
Cities grown in petri dishes.
What are your most unusual, obscure sources of inspiration when creating these "petri dish cities?"
Flocking behavior in avians, slime molds, artificial life research, medieval fortifications, science fiction, traffic patterns, the "broken window" theory, Jane Jacobs.
Would you say that your drawings have a particular audience?
I will say the people who seem to be most attracted to it are basically interested in similar themes—the idea that life is essentially a product of increasingly complex interactions—that cities are fundamentally organisms.
You could say that cities are prone to a sort of "butterfly effect." Why have you chosen pen and ink as your preferred medium?
My background's in sculpture, and my drawing practice started as preparatory sketches for the architectural/city models I was making at the time. Initially they were done with drafting pencils and Maylines. My dad's an architect and I grew up around architect's tools.
Clearly, your talents for architecture run in the family. Was there a specific moment during your childhood that hinted toward your artistic future?
I guess drawing a medieval castle in three-point perspective at the age of nine, without prompting. It was just obvious to me how you depict space, and it didn't occur to me that anyone else would have difficulties with it.
You're originally from Boston, then you moved to the Midwest and New York City before settling in Philadelphia in 2007. And, you mentioned you were heavily involved in the Brooklyn art scene as co-director of 57Hope Gallery. Now that you've
been in Philly for a few years, what effects has the City had on your artwork?
If anything, possibly the inclusion of more explicit biological references in the work—we live in a very green part of the city. But I'm not sure; it may have just been time [for me] to make this kind of work. We haven't been here that long, and I've lived in plenty of other places that have already imprinted themselves on me as a person. Of course every place changes you, but I think the effects are more pronounced when you're in your twenties.
When you get a moment to tear yourself away from your artwork, what are some of your favorite places to visit in Philadelphia?
Forbidden Drive. Earth Bread & Brewery. [The area of] Mount Airy. When we moved here we were fortunate to land on our feet in the right neighborhood for us.
You named your wife (and fellow artist and co-director of MACAS), Andrea Wohl Keefe, as one of your greatest sources of inspiration and motivation. How do you balance your professional and personal lives?
My wife and I both work full time, have our own art practices, a four-and-a-half year-old son, and the gallery. So equilibrium between it all is an ongoing process.
What's the greatest piece of advice you've ever received?
Don't stop working.
Finally, as someone who has established themselves as a successful artist, gallery director, father, and husband, what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?
Save that question for when I'm 80.
Learn more about Colin Keefe at his website, and at www.mountairycontemporary.com. Check out MACAS for the upcoming two-person exhibition of Alexis Granwell and Rick Lewis, opening March 5, 2012.
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