Kim Jones (artist)
Encyclopedia
Kim Jones is a contemporary artist who lives and works in New York City.
Kim Jones began his career in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s as a performance artist, and became primarily known for his alter ego, Mudman—a shaman-like itinerant caked in mud and other organic substances who appeared on city streets, subways, galleries, and museums wearing a cumbersome lattice structure of sticks on his back. In the 1980s Jones moved to New York, where his work (including performance, sculpture, drawings, and writing) has continued to address the themes of war, healing, and destruction.
from 1967 to 1968. Jones received his BFA from the California Institute of Arts (1971) and MFA from the Otis Art Institute (1973) at a time when the Southern California performance and conceptual art
movements were garnering international recognition. Influenced by alternative lifestyles and non-Western religious practices and cultures, Jones, along with peers such as Chris Burden
, Suzanne Lacy
, Paul McCarthy
, and Barbara T. Smith
, enacted body-based performances that commented on a wide range of topical issues, including the war, violence against women, civil rights, and sexual liberation.
in Los Angeles. He continued to appear in urban areas and galleries wearing a sculptural headdress and burdened by a lattice structure of sticks on his back, presenting a formidable sight that has invited comparisons to the homeless, camouflaged soldiers, peasants, or any number of mystic figures found in religions worldwide.
Art historian Marcia Tucker described Mudman as "a shamanistic figure, performing solitary, primitive rituals in a time and place not his own, but belonging to other cultures and other lands. He is a catalyst, suggesting mythological beings (half man, half beast), the stuff of legends and fairy tales, the visionary dimension of human endeavor."
Kim Jones began his career in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s as a performance artist, and became primarily known for his alter ego, Mudman—a shaman-like itinerant caked in mud and other organic substances who appeared on city streets, subways, galleries, and museums wearing a cumbersome lattice structure of sticks on his back. In the 1980s Jones moved to New York, where his work (including performance, sculpture, drawings, and writing) has continued to address the themes of war, healing, and destruction.
Early life
As a child Jones was diagnosed with Perthes, a Polio-like illness that confined him to a wheelchair and leg braces from ages seven to ten. Thirteen years later he served for a year as a Marine in the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
from 1967 to 1968. Jones received his BFA from the California Institute of Arts (1971) and MFA from the Otis Art Institute (1973) at a time when the Southern California performance and conceptual art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
movements were garnering international recognition. Influenced by alternative lifestyles and non-Western religious practices and cultures, Jones, along with peers such as Chris Burden
Chris Burden
Christopher "Chris" Burden is an American artist working in performance, sculpture, and installation art.-Education:Burden studied for his B.A...
, Suzanne Lacy
Suzanne Lacy
Suzanne Lacy is an internationally known artist, educator, writer, and former public servant. She describes her work, which includes "installations, video, and large-scale performances", as focusing on "social themes and urban issues." She also served in the education cabinet of Jerry Brown, then...
, Paul McCarthy
Paul McCarthy
Paul McCarthy , is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California.-Life:McCarthy was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and studied art at the University of Utah in 1969. He went on to study at the San Francisco Art Institute receiving a BFA in painting...
, and Barbara T. Smith
Barbara T. Smith
Barbara Turner Smith is an American artist known for her performance work in the late 1960s. She studied painting, art history and religion as an undergraduate at Pomona College, being graduated in 1953, and she received her MFA from University of California, Irvine in 1971...
, enacted body-based performances that commented on a wide range of topical issues, including the war, violence against women, civil rights, and sexual liberation.
Mud Man
Jones's stick and foam rubber sculptures—tightly bound in what would become his signature materials of nylon, rope, and electrical tape—grew larger in scale and ultimately merged with his body, transforming Jones into the walking sculpture Mudman. Caked in mud and other organic substances, Mudman first appeared in what became known as the "Wilshire Walk" on January 28, 1976, on Wilshire BoulevardWilshire Boulevard
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for Henry Gaylord Wilshire , an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. Henry Wilshire initiated what was to become Wilshire...
in Los Angeles. He continued to appear in urban areas and galleries wearing a sculptural headdress and burdened by a lattice structure of sticks on his back, presenting a formidable sight that has invited comparisons to the homeless, camouflaged soldiers, peasants, or any number of mystic figures found in religions worldwide.
Art historian Marcia Tucker described Mudman as "a shamanistic figure, performing solitary, primitive rituals in a time and place not his own, but belonging to other cultures and other lands. He is a catalyst, suggesting mythological beings (half man, half beast), the stuff of legends and fairy tales, the visionary dimension of human endeavor."
Rat Piece
Kim Jones's most controversial performance was "Rat Piece", which took place in 1976 at California State University in Los Angeles. During this notorious onstage piece, Jones (as Mudman) unveiled a wire cage holding three live rats, which he doused with lighter fluid and set on fire. This controversial performance led to the gallery director's dismissal and a court case for the artist.Exhibitions
Jones's work has been featured in significant group exhibitions, including the 52nd International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennial (2007), Disparities & Deformations: Our Grotesque, Site Santa Fe (2004); Out of Actions: Between Performance and the Object at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (1998); and Mapping at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1994). Kim Jones: A Retrospective (2006–08) chronicles over thirty years of the artist's performances, drawings and sculpture and was organized by the UB Art Gallery, The State University of New York, Buffalo, and the Luck man Fine Arts Complex, California State University, Los Angeles.External links
- Kim Jones in the Video Data Bank