Jay Heikes Candle 2002
City Pages profiles one of Minneapolis’ participants in the 2006 Whitney Biennial, Jay Heikes. Of his piece Candle, a table draped with abstracted band logos cut out of fabric, he says:
“I didn’t really like death metal, but I love the fact that the bands make their logos unreadable. It’s such a great subversive gesture. The only legible thing on death metal concert posters is the space between each logo. I remember doing a big paper cutout and having no idea who the band was. Then, a few years later, I looked at it, and was like, Oooh. Finally, I was able to read it. It turned out that I’d been looking at it backwards.”

Howdy!
Next time you see Jay, please tell him that he was my answer to the following question: “I challenge you to find me GOOD death metal art that is neither aimed
> totally at a death metal audience (death metal album cover art doesn’t
> count), nor loosely doing the same thing as death metal (merzbrow as you
> described their performances). I want something akin to Shearer’s work,
> only GOOD.”
Thanks Tons! I got me a pitcher of beer because of him.
Comment by Zeke — 4/13/2006 @ 11:53 am