If you made it to MINT Gallery’s “Live Amateurs” exhibition a few weeks back and saw four naked people sitting at a table playing Cards Against Humanity, you probably know that they’re not afraid of featuring artists who think outside the box. Another example: “Zzz zzz zzz zzz zzz Presented by Queersar,” which opens at MINT this Friday, March 7, at 7pm. Conceived by Marietta native Erin Palovick, 26, and Gainesville native Jared Kelley, 26, the exhibition is open to the public, but includes 30 slots for guests to pay $20 to stay overnight in the gallery and experience a relaxation exercise that includes alcohol, food, 12 “relaxation assistants,” yoga, portable sleeping cocoons and more. It’s gonna get weird, y’all.
CommonCreativ talked to Kelley and Palovick about chaos, the new show and floating in space with Carl Sagan.
CommonCreativ: What first sparked your interest in art?
Jared Kelley: My sister. She was always drawing, painting, making dioramas, making music—generally being the creative one. I always was the nerdy one, working on a computer all the time, coding websites and figuring out Photoshop. At some point, I looked at what I was making in Illustrator or what I was trying to learn to code and I put it together that this was art too.
Erin Palovick: My big sister. She is almost 10 years older than me and also went to school for studio art. She was my first favorite artist.
CC: How did you form the concept of your upcoming show at MINT?
JK: Erin and I were having brunch while discussing the closing performance for our show, “Without Knowing,” that was at WonderRoot. We were exhausted and running on about ten cups of coffee apiece. [We] just kept saying, “Wouldn’t it be nice to force our audience to relax so we can, too?” And thus our “relaxation night” was hatched.
CC: What can attendees expect from the exhibition?
EP: Our goal is to help each individual find a sense of calm in the midst of chaos. The performance takes place within a show currently up at MINT Gallery, “Steal This Bike,” which is based on our visual culture within the digital age. We found the ideas presented in this exhibition to be a perfect stage. The event is split into two parts: 7pm to midnight is open to the public, and midnight to 8am will be a pre-selected audience of 30. The first half of the night is a collaboration of sorts. We’ve invited so many creatives to help cultivate the experience—musicians, poets, visual artists, dancers, yoga and meditation guides, herbalists—basically, everyone we love. The second half is more intimate and furthers the relaxation adventure. The audience will be fed and left to explore different “Relaxation Stations” before going to sleep in their own “Portable Sleeping Cocoon.”
CC: What does your artistic process look like?
JK: Endless meetings where we essentially come up with new ideas for shows and then figure out how to sandwich them into our existing show before they take on another life of their own. Erin is one of the easiest people to create with. We were randomly paired to do a show together, and our friendship was built around this common goal, so that will always be the innate lifeblood of our process.
EP: Our artistic process begins through conversation. I’ve noticed that we hardly ever say no to one another. Every idea is valid and worth exploring. And we work extremely well under pressure. Did you see the promotional image of Jared and I floating in space with Carl Sagan? One minute, Jared said, “Let’s strap ourselves to a rocket ship and float in the galaxy with God,” and the next minute I was in a photo shoot, pretending to be blasted into the sky. If he had given me 10 minutes to think about it, it would never have happened.
CC: How do you choose the themes you focus on?
JK: We’re always trying to evoke an emotional response—sort of like raw data that hasn’t been collated yet. We start by asking what we want the audience to feel, and the conversation grows from there.
CC: Tell me about the first show you two collaborated on.
EP: Our first show together was “Without Knowing,” an exhibit curated by Stephanie Dowda. At the time, we didn’t know each other too well and had no intention of collaborating. We agreed to split the space equally in half and hang our own 2D work. I think it was only our second meeting that we threw out that plan and decided to work together on a project. “These Questions Are Unknown” was the title of the piece, and it involved us inviting “lovers” to answer our unanswerable questions. We put all our love and energy into this project and were glowing every day leading up to the opening.
CC: What are some of your favorite local art projects, artists and organizations?
JK: Dashboard Co-Op is probably the most exciting arts organization in the city. Other artists I really enjoy would be Bethany Collins, Jonathan Bouknight and Erik Thurmond—all are doing really dynamic and interesting work. Aubrey Longley-Cook’s “Serving Face” was one of the most beautiful collaborative works I’ve seen in Atlanta.
EP: Some of my favorite artists in Atlanta are Seana Reilly, Shara Hughes, Kiki Blood, Craig Drennen, Iman Person and Stephanie Dowda. I have been really inspired by the growing poetry scene in Atlanta as well. I’d love to see the literary and visual art worlds collide more often. Also, anything Helen Hale touches is gold.
CC: What do you think about the current arts scene in Atlanta?
JK: Atlanta has an incredibly dynamic, unstructured and community-oriented art scene. For all intents and purposes, it is probably one of the best places to be an emerging artist because it feels like you can do anything you want to do and someone will say, “OK! That sounds like a great idea, lets do it.”
EP: I feel so incredibly lucky to be a part of the art community in Atlanta. It’s not perfect, but I think we all know that and we’re working hard towards something better. It feels as though we are in a fertile stage in the city’s artistic development—anything is possible if you want it.
Find more information about the show and how to participate here.
