because art: Commentary, Critique, & Conversation

by John R. Killacky

Essays, speeches, and conversations by artist, arts administrator, and Vermont state legislator, John R. Killacky. Highlights

252 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2021

About the author

John R. Killacky is an artist and an arts administrator.

Reviews

[Stephen Kiernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A broad minded and heart-filling valedictory, by an artist and performing arts manager who also sees the connection between the arts and cultural politics.

This book opens confessionally: the author's personal and professional development as a dancer, a person damaged during surgery, a front row participant in the culture wars of the 1980s and '90s over what was acceptable art, a witness to the scourge of AIDS among performing artists. The strength in this section of the book lies in how the public is personal, whether it's the overwhelming grief in a visit to Auschwitz or it's Killacky's own struggle with disability and recovery. The conclusion? Survival relies in part on "crazy wisdom," which is to say a kind of stubborn joy.

The second section is called "Critique" -- a selection of reviews that at first I wasn't engaged by. But with each new piece I saw more of a path being set in front of me. Artists I did not understand, ideas that seemed outside the norm, they were on display for me to consider and learn from. Performers I'd never heard of, whose lives are their art and who make art of themselves, live with a kind of audacity and self-affirmation that is practically a dare. Would you have the courage ?

The short third section is about loss, elegies and tributes that range from an experimental director and playwright to the author's own parents. The tribute to Joan Rivers was my favorite.

Almost as a bonus, the last section contains interviews with some of the greatest creative minds in performing arts over the past generation -- and now as well. Trisha Brown, Bill T. Jones, Meredith Monk. The singer Janis Ian appears, as well as the author, playwright and cartoonist Allison Bechdel. These conversations are intimate, expansive and illuminating.

The book does work as a whole, but I found myself reading it one essay at a time. They're nearly all quite brief. And each contains things you'll want to savor.

[Mima Tipper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of John’s writings organized by “commentary, critique and conversation,” and when I began the read, I thought maybe I’d be a bit limited in my understanding and connection because I haven’t witnessed many of the performances and artists he mentions. Not so! Through his stories of his own experiences with his art, his illness, surgery and recovery, his relationships, and his work as an arts’ “presenter” and advocate, Killacky tells a tale of personal artistic growth while describing in passionate detail the rugged times of the AIDS crisis and the NEA backlash against gay and “alternative” artists during those years. I just learned so much, and was fascinated by how timely his writings are with what is happening in the world and with the arts right now. I really learned a lot about what it takes to be a true arts advocate, and to run an arts center, too. Very hard and necessary work! This is an incredibly important perspective, and I think should be a must-read—really for everyone—especially all who work in the arts and those who wish to support the arts!

[Romalyn Tilghman]

Quite a trip down memory lane for those of us who've spent the last half century working in the U.S. arts scene.