Missives from the Verge with Allyson Shaw

Missives from the Verge with Allyson Shaw

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Missives from the Verge with Allyson Shaw
Missives from the Verge with Allyson Shaw
My Own Personal Psychopomp 😵
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My Own Personal Psychopomp 😵

revisiting the work of artist Mike Kelley 🌝

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Allyson Shaw
Mar 14, 2025
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A grid of eight images of old handmade toys shaped like animals and one person, a young acne-scarred young man with a black bob and buttoned up shirt. All are presented like portraits.
Ah…Youth! Mike Kelley, 1991. Image from the Tate website.

I’ve returned from my pilgrimage to London to see the Mike Kelley show, Ghost and Spirit at the Tate Modern, and I’ve recovered enough to process it.

A couple of days after Kelley’s death by suicide in 2012, I wrote a blog post which I revisit here. He was 57 when he exited, just two years older t…

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