John Patrick McKenzie at Creativity Explored; They Are Full of Holy Nonsense

Willie Nelson likes Star Trek

Red Ribbon Bakeshop

Camp Mustard Lady

These are some of the titles in John Patrick McKenzie's current show at Creativity Explored, a visually stunning, surrealistic combination of calligraphy, words and image. Although he has a list of gallery exhibits that would make a mainstream artist green with envy, this is his first solo show at Creativity Explored. The exhibit thoughtfully represents various overarching themes in the artist’s repertoire—wordplay, math calculations, one-liners, and 3D drawings—and also highlights a few of McKenzie’s recent and lesser-known works on found materials.

View slideshow: John Patrick McKenzie at Creativity Explored; They Are Full of Holy Nonsense

Sexy people are apple pies.

Some of his pieces are funny. Who knew that sexy people were full of apple pies but it makes sense - cinnamon, apples and sugar are delicious and smell and taste good. That's as good a definition of sexy as any. But other pieces are full of melancholy and speak directly of life, death and aging.

In Past the Time Away (2011), he penned the following text onto a Felix Gonzalez-Torres poster of a bird flying in a cloud-filled sky (Untitled, 1992/1993): “born and die, birth and death, past the time away, everybody will die, come and go, diploma, life insurance, we are only passing through this earth, congraduation [sic], graduate, retire, earth is nothing, heaven or hell, end of the world.” In poignant works like this, McKenzie states the inevitable—distilling the process of living into a handful of phrases, which is somehow more saddening than expressive phrases on the same subject might be.

Pilar Olabarria. the vivacious visual arts instructor at CE says. "I think it's wonderful to have someone like John McKenzie. So reversed, and so far away ... it makes you question the world. You start thinking, 'What is it about his state that created this spark?'"

His work is inspired by mass media and pop culture. Government officials, actors and the characters they play, musicians, Chinese Astrology and food, fascinate him. In another culture, he would be the king's (or queen's) Holy Fool or perhaps a shaman who was privileged to speak truth to power.

Just as his style of working frequently changes, so do the meanings of his messages: unusual word pairings and phrases sometimes evoke a deep sadness, and are at other times full of great whimsy. If he weren't an "outsider artist," he would be considered the Appollinaire of our generation. Like Appollinaire, he uses calligraphy, words and layout to create effects but unlike the French poet, McKenzie is autistic.

A 2002 piece by Lessley Anderson in SF Weekly describes some of the difficulties in working with him. Although the clients at Creativity Explored are the artists, it is the staff's dedication that has helped them create their artwork, inspite of their various disabilities.

" On a good day like that, he works furiously and prolifically. On bad days, which are frequent, McKenzie is nearly catatonic -- his brow wrinkled in a scowl, hands hanging limply at his sides, gaze fixed on the splattered floorboards. If someone tries to talk to him, he puts his head down on the table and pulls his windbreaker over his head."

Banana Ice Cream..Toffee Ice Cream

Pork Spare Ribs...Thinnest Skinniest.

Different Paula Abdul

On this Friday, the center is having their weekly Dance Party and the scene inside the studio space is full of joyous dancing. The letters on McKenzie's pieces seem to dance in time with the music, a musically calligraphy score that comes from a man who most of the world would have written off. His pieces sell for between $200 - $1200. They are a bargain, both in human and artistic terms.

The show is up through June 22, 2001

Selected works by John Patrick McKenzie will also be included in Create, an upcoming exhibition at UC Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley, CA (May 11 –September 25), and a solo exhibition of the artist’s work will be held at Brett McDowell Gallery in Dunedin, New Zealand (June 17 - July 7).