Shuffle Synchronicities: Volume 1 - #289
Guest Post by Kellee Brewer Stall + "Don't Stop" by Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug - 11/02/21
Today we have a wonderful guest post from the artist, Kellee Brewer Stall. Kellee and I met on Instagram when I saw her artwork, Made In His Image, advertised on The Breath And The Clay.
As you can see it’s quite a masterpiece:
The story behind the making of it is fascinating, too.
Kellee had been collecting Jesuses that she’s been visually fed her whole life. White Jesus, Hippie Jesus, Clean Jesus, etc. As she found them, she wrestled with what is true and not true. One night she was staring at this traditional Jesus — just feeling the way you feel looking at nostalgia Jesus — the comfort of having a face but knowing at the same time it’s a false image and the loneliness and curiosity it can cause. Like a poem three years in the making, she felt the urge to place the mirror on his face. She felt electricity and it felt super blasphemous and naughty, yet beautiful and deep and rich, and it held more conversation than she had words for. It felt like so many things at once but said with two objects — like a two-word sentence. She kept it to herself, like a diary entry for a year. Before, well, let’s read more…
After a photo and a more formal bio!
Kellee was born in Norfolk Virginia. She spent her childhood in Lilburn Georgia and her high school years in Mandeville Louisiana.
At 18, Kellee moved to Crystal Lake Illinois where she earned her BFA in Acting and met her husband Tim Stall of 27 years. She founded and operated Inhabit Theater Company, an immersive, pop-up theater performing original stories throughout Northern Illinois. Kellee collaboratively wrote comedic plays with the actor’s and musician’s talent in mind then placed these plays in site specific locations like coffee shops, bridal boutiques, and empty houses for sale. Kellee spent 23 years in the Midwest as an acting coach, talent scout, director and playwright.
In 2017 she moved to Charlotte North Carolina where she currently casts, produces, and acting coaches for local film companies.
As an assemblage artist, she approaches her art as she would a theatrical piece.
Kellee collects and casts found objects into a scene to provoke a humorous dialogue or a crucial conversation.
She often collaborates with other artists in an attempt to advance the dialogue of her work.
In July 2021, Kellee produced “Duets” an immersive art show which featured 10 local Charlotte artists and performers. This sold out event allowed patrons the option to support artists by tipping their art.
Kellee’s art and set design was featured in Winston Salam The Breath and The Clay 2021 live & online conference. Kellee received a HUG grant from “Charlotte is Creative” for producing “Plastic Perspective” show in 2019. Her solo show “Identity Crises” featured 11 pieces shown at New City Gallery, Charlotte in the summer of 2018.
Here’s a link to her Instagram.
OK, take it away, Kellee!
“Lion’s Mane” by Iron & Wine
Lion’s Mane by Iron & Wine was my shuffled liked song of the day. It’s an older song but new to me. I was introduced a few weeks ago to Lion’s Mane from my buddy Brandon Willitte’s IG story. Brandon and I have done a few art collabs together so it feels cool to have it play as I guest-post how this song synchronizes with my day.
I like how this song tries to define love. I like it when songs and parables and art and people attempt to define love. For me, love is hard to comprehend and difficult to define.
Today I’m working on a new collab with artist CHD*WCK I’ve asked him to create the word “Let” in his black boxy font onto a 25 square foot white wall in my living room. Huge, beautiful floor to ceiling letters. LET.
“Let” is the first word spoken by God in the creation story. I suppose language was created before light. I want to meditate on the word LET for a bit because I think LET may be an attainable ingredient of love.
Let includes and releases and allows. Let quiets ego. Let can be a super small effort or a big movement.
I made a meditative piece of art a year ago where I assembled a found traditional Jesus painting with an antique handheld mirror. I was wrestling my identity as a Christian and my offense with religion. It was a deeply personal piece and communicated a lot with only a few found objects. I recently sold this piece to Dave, your usual contributor whom you all know and enjoy, but for me, he was a complete stranger.
When I let my art piece go, I was let into Dave’s world. When I let the music list shuffle, I heard lyrics of love that hardly make sense, yet validates the ache I have today to attain it.
Thank you so much, Kellee!
I love this idea of “Let”.
It makes me think of how you ‘Let’ yourself remake religious iconography.
And how you ‘Let’ yourself collaborate with other artists to advance the dialogue of your work.
I plan on advancing the dialogue of your work by taking photos of everyone who visits my home.
Like I first did with myself.
Or as Jay-Z raps in Kanye West’s recent “Jail”.
Made in the image of God, that's a selfie
But perhaps there is a way to ‘remake’ the idea and even further the dialogue by ‘letting’ it into a public space instead of just a private one for further ‘collaboration’.
It might be a bit of a stretch today than usual, but ‘remaking’ and ‘collaboration’ and ‘letting’ seem to be part of the song I had today, too.
"Don't Stop" by Megan Thee Stallion, Young Thug
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion ‘collaborated’ with Young Thug and Buddah Bless on the track, and Jackson Langford pointed out that the latter’s production seemed to be an inspired ‘remake’ of the pioneering glitch sound of PC Music but for hip-hop.
The music video for "Don't Stop", directed by Colin Tilley, was the first official music video from Megan's debut album Good News, and it ‘remakes’ the iconography of Alice in Wonderland and Edward Scissorhands.
There’s of course much that is profane about Megan Thee Stallion.
And yet if you watch the music video, you might, like me, not be able to help but ‘let’ yourself see how it’s both ‘naughty and beautiful’ as Kellee said about her work.
Perhaps Megan’s profane Good News is also sacred Gospel.
Apparently, over 64,000,000 people felt similar.
Wouldn’t it be nice if a fraction of that also enjoyed Kellee’s art?
Check out another piece below and find more on her Instagram!
Okay, that’s the two hundred and eighty-ninth Shuffle Synchronicities.