Monday November 6 – Thursday November 9, 11pm PT
Lauren Kelley
True Falsettos
Artist in person — Q&A following the screening
In person & online
Microscope is pleased to welcome artist Lauren Kelley to the gallery for a solo screening of video works. The event is taking place both in person and online.
Kelley’s short works on the program, made between 2006-2021, encapsulate stories — at times poetic, other essayistic, contemplative, or humorous — from everyday characters with often starkly divergent aspirations, problems, and lifestyles. Within these works, all of which are under seven minutes in length, Kelley distills what in other hands would require a feature-length movie plot into painstakingly crafted, stop-motion animations.
“My process is a solo initiative that involves writing the scripts, crafting sets, storyboards, and costumes. I record my own sound and control lighting. I shoot, edit, and develop these narratives one photographic frame at a time.” — LK
The use of dolls as the raw material of Kelley’s art and video making is partially inspired, among others, by the activist groups “The Yes Men” and the Barbie Liberation Organization (BLO), and by Kenneth and Mamie Phipps Clark’s 1940s “doll test” studies on children and their perceptions of race. With exacting attention to detail, Kelley believably transfers us from the human scale and immerses us into a doll-sized one.
These worlds — constructed and shot by Kelley — with their witty and deceptively simple narratives may tell us more about real life than even the most candid documentaries. And yet, her works are not about recounting a story of an actual event: her fake world feels real as she offers no simple morals or resolutions.
Kelley will be in attendance and participate in a Q&A following the screening.
General Admission $9
Member Admission $7
Online tickets will be available on this page starting from 7pm ET on the day of the show.
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Lauren Kelley is an interdisciplinary artist who employs a wry wit when commenting on matters of innocence, race, and girlhood. At the core of her practice is a series of short, stop-motion animated videos that combine claymation with her brown, plastic dolls. Stylistically evocative of children’s television programs of her youth, Kelley stages absurd, jittery, and sometimes endearing narratives. These low-tech scenarios occur in her Technicolor dioramas; a plush backdrop in contrast to the flaccid tales of a discontented cast of ingénues. For Kelley, dolls are a vehicle for navigating the space between luxuries and necessities; sweet and unsavory sentiments; Black and non-black worlds. Currently she is developing a body of work inspired by mid-century American history and the grotesque charm of Todd Haynes’ 1987 cult classic, “Superstar:The Karen Carpenter Story.”
Program:
Upside
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2010, 3 minutes 30 seconds
This stop motion animated short was completed while the artist participated in the Studio Museum in Harlem’s Artist-in- Residence Program (2009-2010). In Upside, bitter sweet pathos is a sentiment explored. Told from the vantage point of a child, the main character assesses her family’s lot when swimming at a pool party goes awry.
Scene 8: The Aircraft’s Refrigerated Storage
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2021, 1 minute 45 seconds
“Scene 8: The Aircraft’s Refrigerated Storage” tells the story of a flight attendant who has recently inherited an expansive African Art collection. The art collection was owned by the flight attendant’s elderly superior. Set in the freezing cargo unit of her boss’ private jumbo jet, the audience observes a moment of transformation for the flight attendant as she learns that instead of a bonus or raise, she is receiving 4500 sculptures.
Prototypical Oppression/Obsession
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2009, 3 minutes 30 seconds
Set in a commercial aircraft cabin, Prototypical Oppression/ Obsession is an ode to plastic and passive aggressive behavior. Drawing inspiration from observing an ordinary work place occurrence, this short story renders conflict arising when limited space is perceived. The main character, Kit’s strength resides in her good looks and charm .Penny is the antagonist whose might stems from being consistently composed. This work examines what occurs when women attempt to, succeed and or fail at flexing while remaining demure.
Burlap Interior
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2013, 2 minutes 59 seconds
Burlap Interior a stop-motion animated short that depicts everyday life situations in the interiors of automobiles in a jittery, absurd, non-linear narrative. This work is an extension of the 2011 video Froufrou Conclusions.
Big Gurl
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2006, 6 minutes 40 seconds
In Big Gurl, various shades of Barbie-like dolls are brought to life with clay to form malleable characters that navigate viewers through mundane situations that occur in public restroom stalls and behind fast food kitchen counters. An earthy narrator is employed to lead a cast of inert beings through various vignette about the durable nature and limits of human strength.
Wildseed
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2008, 1 minute 28 seconds
Wildseed is the survey of a utopic landscape when aggressively tilled by an abnormal force of nature. The disjunction between the audible French narration and visible subtitles is the impetus for this stop animation effort. In this work a confused narrator supports an animated atmosphere that consumes a static zoo of topiary figures. The title Wildseed evokes the title of the science fiction account by Octavia Butler whose inspiring tales incorporate grisly texture to the portrayal of dystopian locals.
Froufrou Conclusions
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2011, 1 minute 29 seconds
Froufrou Conclusions presents a series of fluffy voiceless vignettes and explores the emotional sliver existing between wants and needs; the obscure gap between what is acquired versus what is desired and the surreal manner of daily life. A meditation on economy, at the center of each storyline is a dense, cream adorned cake. Subtitles are employed. Hungry subjects and viewers are teased in an attempt to empathize with the notion of needing/wanting more than what you have.
True Falsetto
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2011, 2 minutes 16 seconds
True Falsetto is an attempt to seductively interpret the state of immobility. The subject of this short animated piece is a still life, a deserted picnic. An invisible and earnest protagonist leads viewers through an account of the preparations made in anticipation of the most marvelous date that never occurs. Amongst the meticulously hand crafted items of sweet and sour fare is a dream covered in flies. The nucleus of this sentimental plot is a palatable notion of desire not yet fulfilled. This work was made possible with support from The Kitchen and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts.
Get the Bones from 88 Jones Because She Also Eats Meat
By Lauren Kelley, single-channel video, 2007, 6 minutes 41 seconds
Get the Bones from 88 Jones Because She Also Eats Meat gives an aerial view of the disposable nature of intimate relationships. This short, stop motion animation tale scrutinizes the gestures that occur between an invisible librarian and a capricious peacock—both are bookworms. Throughout this anti love story, the familiar predator and prey narrative elements are liquefied when what seems solid to a smitten protagonist cracks and falls apart.
TRT: 34 min approx.
