Larry and Debby Kline artists and provocateurs – installation, performances, and other works

Artist Statement and Interviews

Click on the link below to listen to The Klines’ interview on Twisted South Radio, 8/23/2012

TwistedSouthRadioInterview_TheKlines

Click on the link below to listen to The Klines’ interview on Artscape Radio, 10/13/2006

ArtscapeRadioCompressed_TheKlines

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

 

Q:      Do you really think 1 person can change the world?

A:      Yes, and there are two of us…

Q:      How do you do it?

A:      By using our art to make people think differently. We pose provocative questions, challenge preconceptions and generally screw with context to make a point.  Humor softens the blow.

Q:      What media do you use?

A:      We aren’t those kinds of artists.  The media varies from project to project. We believe that artists (and audiences) are at their best when working beyond their comfort zones so we venture toward media with which we are less familiar or entirely untested. It is the process of experimentation that leads to truly amazing things in the studio.

Q:      Yeah, but can you be more specific?

A:      Fluorescent light bulbs, tobacco, Salt (from the Bonneville Salt Flats), prescription medication, Mud (from Israel), Mud (from the Salton Sea), ceramic, foam, cement, ketchup…

Q:      What subjects do you focus on?

A:      Our subjects vary but some examples of issues that we have tackled include religious tolerance, California/Mexico relations, medical access and the nature of creative thinking.  Another piece, “The War Ain’t Over till the Paperwork’s Done” addresses the misappropriation of funds in the Middle East.  Our Tobacco Teddy Bears come in their very own cigar boxes, a commentary on the marketing tactics of tobacco companies.  And, oh yes, they are very cute.

Other works challenge viewers’ preconceptions through social interaction, participation and performance.   One example is “The Game at Hand,” a complex and confusing political chess game that we traveled across America, filming participants as they played and discussed war in the Middle East.  Another is “The Electric Fields of California,” which exposes the powerful Electromagnetic fields surrounding power lines by illuminating fluorescent sculptures without direct hookup to a power source.

Q:      How do you get so much done?

A:      See Intern page.  Love those guys…

Q:      How can you possibly make art together? Art is so personal.

A:      Dunno.  Guess we’re joined at the hip…  But we have much in common having met at John Herron School of Art; Indiana University.  We also both had backgrounds in museum work at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; The Chicago Art Institute; The Indianapolis Museum of Art; and the California Center for the Arts where Debby was acting Museum Director.   We even curate exhibitions and write together.

Q:      I saw your images and love the work but don’t have much cash.  Can I own a Kline?

A:      You betcha.  Take a trip to the purchase page.  If you don’t have the cash available for a major work of art, we also have some very interesting and odd multiples available for sale at very reasonable prices.

 

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