I support Steve Keene....

Steve Keene let me in to his studio to take pictures for the next issue of LIT (spoiler alert). I met Steve through my friend Clint, who helps Steve with his blog. Steve has done album covers for bands I love like Pavement and the Silver Jews. His studio, located in Brooklyn, is also an art store. You should stop in and buy some stuff from him. It's super cheap. I bought four pieces for ten bucks. They look like vinyl LP covers, painted on plywood. I bought: "The Clash" by The Clash, "The Freewheelin'" Bob Dylan, and "Wowee Zowee" and "Crooked Rain" by Pavement.

I find Steve's process inspiring. He simultaneously creates hundreds of pieces of art, by hand. He paints reproductions of album covers, but he also makes videos, installations, jewelry, and anything else you can think of. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that he is one of the most prolific artists in America. He's like a machine. I feel like he is taking on the music industry, Capitalism, and "high art," all at the same time. There is a really good video of Steve, explaining his process, here.

(On a side-note, we are finishing up the 17th issue of LIT. It should be out sometime in January or February. We are going to have a release party at Housing Works, in SoHo. The issue and the release party are going to be rad. More posts on these things later.)


Thanks, Steve Keene.