UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center - University Museum of Contemporary Art About

101 Forgeries is a meditation on the function, purpose, meaning, and definition of art, as well as the nature and meaning individual identity in relation to community.

The piece is realized in public as we ask passersby to "forge" Keegan's signature on a sheet of paper. The participant then does their best (or not) to replicate Keegan's signature as modeled. After 104 forgeries we ask the last participant to choose four that they disapprove of, for whatever reason, and cross them out. Keegan then does his best to accurately forge his own signature (working from the original model) at the top of the sheet. We produce a 15 minute video document of the realization of each execution. We view this as a lifelong project.

101 Forgeries is about many things: concept, process, temporality, performance, community, absurdity and humor in art, drawing, irony, the philosophy and meaning of art, and most obviously the often egotistical nature of artistic endeavors.

Concept: the ideas behind the piece are more important to the artists than the finished product itself.

Process: the process of building the final drawing is critical to the realization of the piece and, to the artists, of greater importance than the finished product itself.

Temporality: two of three aspects of the work exist only temporarily, the original execution on the "street" and the final realization in the "gallery." Meanwhile, the drawing on paper persists through time.

Performance: the artists are players in that they are inter "acting" directly with their audience as the audience participates in the completion of the work.

Community: people are brought together and collaborate on a common goal (the creation of a work of art) in a public space, reminding ourselves of our interconnectedness.

Humor: as serious as this piece is, why would anyone ask another person to forge their own signature? Where is the logic in that? It is an absurd notion!

Drawing: is a sheet of paper with 105 forgeries, with four forgeries crossed out, really a drawing? Is it a drawing if 105 people participate in creating it?

Irony: among other things there is the obvious irony of the artist "forging" his own signature at the end of the piece.

Philosophy of art: the piece is a metaphor for, and a direct example of, the argument put forth by Marcel Duchamp, so many years ago, that it is the audience that ultimately completes the work of art. An issue argued among artists even to this day. Then there is the metaphor of the last participant actually critiquing the work by "crossing out" four forgeries that they disapprove of. This addresses the issue of "beauty in the eye of the beholder."

Egotism: Artists have been accused of being self absorbed on more than one occasion and the obvious egocentric nature of this piece isn't easily missed.

Perhaps the most significant question raised by this piece is that of a person's identity. What is identity and how is it expressed? We all have unique identities and we all have unique signatures and our signature is our projection of our unique identity to the world. And yet, we have found that people are often willing to give up their unique identity, at least for a few moments, and assume someone else's identity "in the name of art." Why?

Keegan & Nick are collaborative artists. Formally trained, their art takes form in various media - primarily sculpture (both static and kinetic ), drawing and video /performance art.

Much of their work has a historical perspective and influence. They reference various research disciplines (e.g. archeology, paleontology, anthropology etc.) and visual vocabularies in their work which explore the nature and development of early culture, civilization and technics. Domestication of fire, grain and animals, the development of early technologies, written language and the history of art are all considered during the creative process.

Another aspect of their work is very much concerned with present culture and our relationships with; one another and their community, technology, high & low culture and the earth. Their interactive kinetic sculptures and video/performance work embody these concerns.

Finally, some of their video works concern themselves with the space and objects of theor everyday life, others with the nature and psychology of their working relationship. Their thinking uses symbolism and metaphor as a conceptual basis for their works.

Their materials include artifacts both found and fabricated by them. They work with fire, glass, metal, water, wood, Hudson River sand, paper, stone, polymer adhesives, synthetic materials, mucous, bone, fossils, various natural artifacts, electric motors, speakers, sound inducers etc.