The Horror Library - The Best in Horror Fiction

Interview with Keith Spears - Multimedia Artist
By Chris Perridas

Keith Spears is a multimedia artist. His works can be seen in our gallery HL Gallery or at his site Keith Spears. His works contain classic horror and terror elements – apocalypticism, nihilism, death, and humanity coping with violence.

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[Chris Perridas for Horror Library] Your eerie sculptures are compelling. When I saw the ones themes around insects and shell casings, they reeled me in and made me think about our western society values. What compelled you to do this series?
[Keith Spears] I was interested in our forced evolution and adaptations of the insect/animal world. For instance, how dolphins are used by the military to scout out mines and enemy scuba divers in patrolled waters. How cockroaches are being fitted with micro cctv security cameras to infiltrate smaller spaces. The whales that are beached en mass to escape the Navy's new super sonar, which would have to be similar to hearing the new bass systems in car audio technology. Insect exoskeleton research for the advancement of combat wear. What is always a noble saying: "We have a lot to learn from .... say, the insect world," well, the outcome of new research is often split equally into beneficial and malevolent usage.

[HL] You are also a musician. Tell us about that part of your art.
[KS] I have a basic knowledge of electrical wiring. I enjoy rewiring power equipment such as drills, metal grinders, saber saws, and blenders. I rewire them into the stage lights and weld microphones onto the tools. So when I go to destroy the stage set, the more power I give the tool, the dimmer the stage lights become, and the public address system is blaring out these sounds of things falling apart. It looks like a mad scientist's laboratory when I play out, with the flash of electrical chaos and thundering clouds forewarning the creation of a questionable creation.

[HL] The War of the Worlds movie is out. Wells' story seems to tell us more about us that about the Martians. Your art is like that - apocalyptic and yet has a keen message for us if we would see it. What is your artistic statement?
[KS] We're living in the Golden Age of the Post-Industrial Revolution. And, like Rome, we will implode. There's a terminal velocity to our technology, and we're running out of oil to keep this machine of ours well lubed. Our leisure time is diminishing from studying the manuals for our new leisurely investments. Children's' summer vacation is disappearing so that no child will be left behind in this information age. And it seems the greatest winners of this era are those in the business of engineering prozac, valium, ritalin, and distilled spirits.

[HL] What new artistic expressions are you creating?
[KS] There's been distinct periods of my art in which I've either made photographs, shadowboxes, or metal sculpture. Now my work is taking on these more algebraic forms. I'm making shadowboxes that aren't confined to a square box. It's become much more about mixed media presentation.

[HL] Keith, do you ever try to integrate your art with nature? The insect theme is certainly there, and man is not only destroying himself, but his environment. How do you express this in your art?
[KS]I use some strong elements in my work that are pretty representational, such as bones, skulls, ammunition, syringes and pills. And the metal parts of my work are usually polished steel, but still there is this sense of decay. I build my pieces to withstand the test of time. Yet there is seldom a truly human element in my work, in the traditional sense. Any image of the human race, or any other biological factor, has evolved into a Being that seems dependent on the inanimate - on wires, on television components, on pharmaceutical products, or on a crutch.

[HL] Thanks for sharing your vision and art with the readers at HL.