The Art of Kellen Niemeier cannot be judged until he is dead. Kellen is creating a body of work that is telling a story that works in a circle. Right now, we can only see the curved line of the first 45°. Niemeier isn’t an artist, he’s an architect. He has never been able to sit still inside the hegemonic box society has placed him in. His work is a struggle against those bonds. He isn’t enforcing old ideas; he’s creating new ones. He is the first-ever Transitorialist.
Transitorialist art philosophy
Transitorialism has to do not only with the work itself, but with the conditions in which the work is viewed. That means controlling the environment in which the piece is manifested. For example, a work might be placed at the far end of a room, and there is a pit of mud separating the viewer from the work. The viewer would then need to slog across the mud, in order to reach the work itself. Now there is a transaction happening. The audience must be held accountable for bringing an equal amount of energy to the experience. We are in an age of immersion. Typical museums seem to be the only ones holding back. Transitorialism isn’t about velvet ropes and quiet hallways. It’s about bravery. Engagement. Culpability. Similarly, in a show Niemeier is currently producing, he is constructing a bench that will limit or enhance the experience of a work, depending on where a viewer sits. There is a concrete opportunity to take charge of one’s own experience.
In his newer work, Niemeier is exploring a new medium altogether; the viewer’s mind. His work exists in a liminal, transactional space (i.e. a microwave). The piece is brief. The piece is precious. Most importantly, it cannot be repeated. The piece is not the physical matter that Kellen has manipulated. The piece is the chemical reaction in the brain of the viewer. That’s the art. Similar to the Rasa ideology in performance, the piece then becomes a concept of emotional or physical rapture. You are the piece. I am the piece. The paint continues to be paint. He is also harnessing the power of technology to increase his reach, infecting the audience in their homes, at work, etc.
There is a deeply personal quality to the work of a Transitorialist. Niemeier often uses familiar motifs, with a touch of fantasy attached. Often, everyday environments are thrown into opposition with themselves, creating an undeniable tension. There is no doubt, when viewing the entirety of his work, that his paintings work almost like a diary that is eroding before our eyes. If you blink, you might miss it.