Major

Wed, Jun 25, 2008 | 2:00 PM

Lobby Gallery (directions)

Gallery Walk-Through with Altoids Award Winner Lauren Kelley

Part of Exhibition Related
 
Discussions, Film/Video

Lauren Kelley broadcasts her stop-motion animated videos across Houston’s public television network. Appropriately, her stories are visually and stylistically reminiscent of children’s programs that were launched in the 1970 and ´80s. Using dolls and claymation, Kelley’s visual technique contrasts with the disenchanted, sexualized narratives of a cast of discontent and struggling ingénues. Through commonplace, if not clichéd, circumstances, Kelley explores the female disposition in a demanding and oversexed world. Kelley was born in 1972 in Baltimore, Maryland, and currently lives and works in Houston, Texas. On June 25 Lauren Kelley will discuss her videos in the Altoids Award exhibition.

Banner image:
Lauren Kelley, In the Waters (detail), 2006. Chromogenic color print; 24 x 36 in. / 61 x 91.4 cm.

Sponsors TOP

The 2008 Altoids Award is made possible by Altoids, The Curiously Strong Mints.

Addditional support is provided by the Toby Devan Lewis Emerging Artists Exhibitions Fund.

Profiles TOP

Lauren Kelley

Lauren Kelley uses stop-motion animation to explore stereotypes of femininity and race. By using her voice to speak for a cast of black dolls, Kelley breathes life into plastic characters while poignantly and humorously addressing issues such as gender, womanhood, and the human condition. Whether telling stories of unplanned pregnancy or exploring the world of flight attendants, Kelley’s work introduces its viewers to a world in which dolls and puppets are caught in endless streams of consciousness and are trapped in a bizarre theater of the absurd. Kelley was born in 1972 in Baltimore, Maryland, and currently lives and works in Houston, Texas.