Kentucky born and bred artist Brad Everett Kirkman is what some people might call an “outsider artist.” He isn’t trained, but some might say he’s anointed. Looking at his work, you can clearly see that he’s not only driven by art, but also a message. He works full-time for a precision manufacturing company, but art is his true calling and message. Incidentally, we had this chat long ago and begin by talking about his old website which has since changed to www.brevki.com and www.BradEverettKirkman.blogspot.com However, his message remains the same.

MICHAEL: Hey Brad. First of all, your website is called, mainrinse.com. Why do you have a website and where did the name come from?

BRAD: I felt I needed a space of my own that I could have complete control. No ads to distract and no restrictions etc. Main Rinse is an anagram of “I’m a sinner.” I named it this so I would always be reminded that I am no better than anybody else on this planet. I will always be in need of a Savior that can fill the hole in me that nothing or no one else can fill.

MICHAEL: Do you draw (no pun intended, sorry) any connection between your art and “Main Rinse”?

BRAD: I really can’t separate the two. I think of the website as an extension of the art. I can say and do more there to expand on the message I’m trying to relay with my art.

MICHAEL: I have several different representations of your work and I think it’s more driven by your vision rather than even the material itself. How would you describe your art? I’m tempted to say “outsider,” but I don’t love that term.

BRAD: My work is a direct reflection of my life at the moment it’s created. It’s not necessarily “pretty” in a department store sort of way. And it’s not something that a lot of people will want to hang in their living room. My wife would never let me display most of my art in our house. I want to encourage people with my work. If it’s not considered decorator art, no problem. If you want to hang it in your closet and have a private laugh or a secret bit of encouragement that’s absolutely great with me.

MICHAEL: I seem to recall you telling me that you sometimes paint things and just leave them out in public for people to freely take? What’s up with that?

BRAD: I create little sculptures under the name “Prayzine” (like Praising God) and have left them all over the country for people to pick up and keep. I do this as a gift to others. It’s kind of like a friendly street art project. Just another way to try to help people smile and point them to Christ in the process. I leave just enough information for people to Google the name and see what the project is about.

MICHAEL: So, you’re like a wandering, troubadour artist with a message. Where have you left these sculptures? Have you heard from anybody who has gotten one?

BRAD: Mainly east of the Mississippi from Michigan to Florida. I also have friends who leave them for me in places they vacation and travel for business. I have gotten email just saying thanks for the art and encouraging me to continue. Not a whole lot of communication comes back. Maybe people think that there is more to it than it seems. I suppose they think, “Nobody would leave art lying around for free. There must be a catch.”

MICHAEL: Does your full-time job influence your art in any way or do you keep the two things separate?

BRAD: You can say my art is influenced by my full-time job in that there are a lot of people that I work with who need encouragement or just a kind word. I see them as a good cross-section of people, and even though these people have jobs, they still have needs, be it emotional, physical, or financial. Everybody needs to know they are needed and appreciated. This universal need for encouragement is something that pushes me to continue to make positive, uplifting art.

MICHAEL: Many art people might ask you why you live in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. It’s not exactly a booming art center.

BRAD: Hopkinsville is where I grew up. I’ve been a lot of places and I can’t find a place I like better that I can afford. It’s central, not too hot, not too cold, not too northern, not too southern. And it’s easy for me to jet to NY or LA for my one man shows. Ha!

MICHAEL: Oh, okay. Why do I get the feeling that you’ve answered that question before? But I digress. You mentioned something early on about having “complete control” over your work. This is a huge issue with so many artists (not to mention writers). What’s the deal? Is it the galleries? Who is trying to control artists?

BRAD: The pressure to make something that you know will sell is always lurking. You feel if you paint what you want, nobody will get it and thus not buy. I have control over very little in my life. My time is demanded, my attention is demanded, my finances are demanded. My art is really the only thing that nobody can tell me what to do.

MICHAEL: Yes, that’s tough. On top of that, most of the time, you don’t even know whether buyers are misinterpreting the message of your art. I also experience that myself as a writer. That must be a real issue with you because your work is so message driven. Still, you must create things hoping that there’s an audience out there for it … otherwise supporting yourself can be extremely difficult.

BRAD: I just try to make enough to pay for my supplies, anything above that is a bonus. I don’t see me supporting myself/family on my art. It would be great if I could pull it off, but right now I can’t see that being even close to feasible.

MICHAEL: So why are you even doing this? Aren’t there other ways to spread the message? Living artists have such a tough time. What good is art to anybody?

BRAD: Creating art for me is cheap therapy. It relaxes me. I have a fairly stressful day job and I need a wind down activity. I tried other things, like golf. AHHH! That just added more stress that I didn’t need. As far as the message, I have reached people around the world with my crazy little creations. I love that people anywhere can view my art just by happening upon it. If they look and don’t buy that’s OK. Maybe they get a little encouragement from just seeing it. Actually making a sale is just icing on the cake.

MICHAEL: Thanks Brad. You’re much more than just an optimist. You’re clearly a messenger.
Endnote: You can visit Brad at his websites at www.brevki.com and www.bradeverettkirkman.blogspot.com
MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN AVID ART COLLECTOR AND AUTHOR OF THE MULTI-AWARD WINNING BOOK, “THE ART OF EVERYDAY JOE: A COLLECTOR’S JOURNAL.” CHECK OUT HIS BRAND NEW WEBSITE AT WWW.ARTBOOKGUY.COM

Created by Michael Corbin On 06/08/09 At 12:00 PM

I have been on the road for the past week exploring a few places that I thought I might like to move to (see earlier post), which has slowed posting down. Friends were renting a massive holiday apartment on the Gold Coast so I invited myself around to stay. It was on the 70th floor of a building which claims to be the tallest residential building in the world. It was like living on a plane without all the turbulence and flight attendants offering coffee and bad food.

Here’s some storm clouds rolling in..

Here’s a painting that I couldn’t stand looking at in the apartment, so I turned it around as it would have ruined my week. Friends thought I was crazy but I didn’t want it to influence me in any way.

People looked like ants on the beach.

I have a few more places to explore, but I’m starting to think I will just travel around Europe and America for the next year or two.

Arthur Danto first gave the notion of the “artworld” a philosophical definition: the artworld provides the theories of art which all members of the artworld tacitly assume in order for there to be objects considered as art (see “The Artworld,” Journal of Philosophy (1964)).

For many of us, entering the artworld remains a distant dream. If only there were only a way to sneak our work into a museum. Bansky has accomplished such feats on several occasions by clandestinely hanging his paintings in the Moma and Louvre, only to have them removed by museum staff (albeit days later).

I had the idea to create a Trojan-Horse that I could ride into the artworld. What better than a picture frame, a tableau vivant through which to view the artworld and at the same time be displayed, thereby changing my role from observerto observed. I encapsulated myself within the border of a frame and attempted to create a micronation as a satellite of the artworld.

The piece was performed on the threshold of the RISD museum as a guerrilla installation, and followed these specifications:

An 8′ x 5′ frame is constructed using abandoned railroad ties. Several 1″ eyehooks line the interior perimeter of the frame. Luggage straps are attached to the eyehooks, forming a meshwork within the frame. An immobile person is suspended within this meshwork. The person is not to touch the frame, but is to remain suspended by the straps for the duration of the piece.

I hung suspended within the frame for over six hours. The temperature was below freezing. A plate of cheese and crackers was placed before the frame and museum goers frequently deviated from the typical route and exited the museum to see “ArtWorld”. Many people were hesitant about taking crackers for fear that they would be disrupting the art in some way. People took photos and constantly tried to communicate with the silent, almost catatonic man. It seemed that any confusion about the object was clarified upon witnessing the museum tag I had placed before the object.

Later, a museum administrator came out to see what the object was. She said she didn’t know what it was until that moment, then she said “Now I’m sure… it’s art.” Afterwards I asked Professor Danto if this made me art, but he replied, “You were not art, but, your humanity made it art – to the eyes of a museum administrator!”

Once declared art, the second phase of ArtWorld went into effect. I wanted to inflate the value of the object by making it change hands as much as possible. The frame was sold on eBay with the stipulation that the buyer of ArtWorld must resell the object (even for a $1 profit) within one month of purchase. Compliance entitled the buyer to a rebate from the previous owner equal to the purchase price. This allows each owner to profit while raising the price of the object and lengthening the amount of names on the bill of sale. The object currently belongs to a gentleman in Geneva and I am awaiting an update on its future home. Eventually I would like to buy the ArtWorld back and issue shares in it to all previous owners so they may share ownership and profit equally for their participation in the ArtWorld.

Bio:

Bezdomny (A.K.A. Jeffrey Andreoni) is a full time ¼ÉÕɫɉÉ-ÐV. He began his artistic career in Rome where he was designing banners and campaign flyers for both right and left wing political parties at the same time. When his tangled flag of deception came unfurled, he was left designing posters for the Arcigay (GLBT) of Rome, which is also the point at which he made his first performance art piece, “Family Gay.”

Shortly thereafter he founded the Bezdomny Collective together with other artist/activists in Rome. Around this time he also created his trademark bilingual immigrant superhero cartoon series, Exxxtraman. Jeffrey studied at Moscow State University, La Sapienza University of Rome, and The University of Rhode Island. He has exhibited his photography, film, graphics, and poetry (written in Italian or English) both in Europe and the United States. His work has been featured on CNN, and seen by the Pentagon.

Currently he is producing a series of performance pieces concerned with police states and neuropsychology. He is also in the process of founding the world’s first Nation Of Art. Jeffrey spends his time equally between the US and Europe, though his whereabouts at any given moment are largely unknown.

Created by Jeffrey Andreoni On 01/15/09 At 10:25 AM