About
Highlights include:
· Cultural, social, and political commentary on leadership, disability, equines, Buddhism, AIDS, arts producing, philanthropy, and legislating.
· Critical analysis of such artists as Ron Athey, John Cage, Douglas Crimp, Keith Haring, Peter Hujar, Dona Ann McAdams, Kevin McKenzie, Eiko Otake, and Sarah Schulman.
· Interviews with such art luminaries as Alison Bechdel, Trisha Brown, Janis Ian, Bill T. Jones, Tony Kushner, and Meredith Monk.
Onion River Press @ Phoenix Books www.phoenixbooks.biz/book/9781949066852
REVIEWS
In his concise collection of essays and interviews, Killacky offers behind-the-scenes perspectives on his decades of arts administration, and his own struggle to deal with physical limitations.
His insight on the successes and failures of arts funding, and government censorship at the height of the 'NEA Four' and Robert Mapplethorpe controversies, provide a look back at the ups and downs of funding efforts to support the arts.
Q&As with several notable creators (Bill T. Jones, Tim Miller, Janis Ian, Judith Smith, Tony Kushner and more) make for insightful reading for anyone in the arts, and those interested in how art gets made.
-Jim Provenzano, Bay Area Reporter
His new book offers a raw, personal account of the legislator’s life and career connected through art. The mosaic he produced, bound in a black and pink cover and composed in three parts — commentary, critique and conversation — spans from 1993 to 2021. Many of the essays offer snapshots into Killacky’s personal life, his early career, his experience as an openly gay legislator and as a queer, disabled artist.
-Avalon Styles-Ashley, The Other Paper
Officially, “because art” is an anthology of thirty years of written works and edited speeches. But read together, it is a series of meditations on the social role of art, the sometimes dysfunctional structures of the cultural sector, and the effect that unexpected, horrific loss – and the necessity of moving past it – can have on a person, a community, and the art created in response.
-Debra Cash, The Arts Fuse
John R. Killacky defies category: Dancer, artist, writer, filmmaker, arts administrator and consultant, lecturer, grant panelist, former managing director of two heralded post-modern dance companies, victorious mover after a life-threatening surgical accident, an equestrian aficionado—and now a politician serving the people of his state in the Vermont House of Representatives. So why wouldn’t his latest book, Because Art (Onion River Press), also bound beyond expectations?
The slim edition sports a jet black and hot pink cover. Inside are essays that include a requiem for thousands of lives lost to the AIDS epidemic and a valentine to artists whose devotion to craft transcends spiritual practice and results in endeavors that are far more than simple pursuit of a profession. The book serves an astute guidebook for anyone presenting, producing, practicing, or studying art. It is also a memoir, in which Killacky’s life stories tumble like an avalanche in reverse to form a mountain not of boulders, but of boldness.
-Lou Fancher, 48 Hills
Killacky began his career as a dancer, then became a dance company administrator, and evolved into being a presenter, producer, funder, and now a representative in the Vermont State House. His work as an arts administrator has given him a deep working knowledge of American cultural systems, while his experience with a long-term disability (particularly harsh for a former dancer) makes him acutely aware of the availability of these career paths. Killacky quotes John Cage as if to describe his own career: “I think my activity in the arts is analogous to political activity. It gives an instance of how to change things radically.” This dynamic exchange between theory and practice is a strength of these pieces. Killacky exemplifies what seems to be a relatively new paradigm: the artist who is also an administrator and an activist.
-Jeff McMahon, Gay & Lesbian Review
John R. Killacky’s new book “because art: Commentary, Critique, & Conversation” is a collage of writings bout his life and work across the country as a performing artist, arts administrator, curator and legislator. Prominent in the book is his time as the Performing Arts Curator at the Walker Art Center (1988-1996) in Minneapolis. This was a time of radical queer performance art, the AIDS Crisis, Reagan-Bush politics, culture wars of the time and attacks on the National Endowment for the Arts. Killacky is a gay, differently abled artist and is currently in the Vermont House of Representatives.
-Dixie Treichel, KFAI’s MinneCulture
Killacky is an artist, a community activist, philosopher, and an LGBTQ elder who has seemingly lived several lives in one… Killacky suffered a spinal tumor near the end of his tenure at the Walker which left him paralyzed, having to learn to walk again. He ponders Buddhism, as he spent time in the Himalayas studying with monks. He has a horse, and a husband, and is continuously creating. Because Art certainly has something for everyone.
-Ashley Berning, Lavender Magazine
The book’s subjects of critique and conversation comprise a who’s who of late 20th- and 21st-century American art and culture, including composer John Cage, choreographer Bill T. Jones and cartoonist Alison Bechdel.
-Sally Pollock, Seven Days
Dancer, artist, writer, filmmaker, arts administrator, survivor of a life-threatening surgical accident, equestrian aficionado, Vermont politician, and author. Killacky’s new book, Because Art, looks back at his 30 years in the arts world, and includes commentaries, critiques and conversations with artists.
-Todd Moe, North Country Public Radio
An important read with his perspectives on censorship, as a producer of events under a rightwing looking for a fight, offer unique insight that is as relevant today as was in his battles of the past…Recent and relevant with few mentions of COVID-19, make for a collection of essays that are both historically important and current to what the nation faces today.
-Chris Edwards, Alamagordo Town News
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.
-Stephen Kiernan, goodreads
What a magnificent book! The whole book reflects his courageous spirit of inquiry and independence. We need this book so profoundly in our insane world.
-Meredith Monk, composer/performer
John Killacky has a wonderful book out: "because art". A combination of conversations, critical reviews, interviews with people ranging from yours truly to Meredith Monk and Bill T. Jones. Plus, a striking cover - who could ask for more?
-Janis Ian, singer/songwriter
John Killacky, a former dancer and arts administrator, now a member of the Vermont legislature and driver of a cart pulled by his Shetland pony, has written “because art,” a book you ought to read because he’s both incisive and fun.
-Leah Garchik, former columnist San Francisco Chronicle
Some great interviews and essays herein. Bill T. Jones: "This is my religion, something keeps pulling me forward that has to do with artmaking as a spiritual activity."
-Wendy Perron, former editor Dance Magazine
I'd recommend this book to just about anyone. Anyone who cares about the arts. About the tragedy of AIDS in the '80s. About what it is like to go from a career in the arts to a career as a state legislator. About Joan Rivers. Yes, Joan Rivers. John's chapter about his interactions with her when she came to do a show at the Flynn Theatre in Burlington is, like her, a total scream. Thanks John for what you have done and accomplished with your life, and for putting it down in print for us to enjoy.
-Mark Redmond, Spectrum
This is a collection of previous published essays in which the author explores his life in the arts, in community service, as a disabled individual, and as a gay man….But collectively there is much to take away from this examination of the many passions, accomplishments, and experiences that have made up the life of John Killacky.
-William Notte, goodreads
Quite a trip down memory lane for those of us who've spent the last half century working in the U.S. arts scene.
-Romalyn Tilghman, goodreads
MEDIA
Bay Area Reporter:
https://www.ebar.com/arts_&_culture/books/news//310576/art_as_a_cause:_john_r_killackys_book_of_essays
Vermont Public Radio:
https://www.vpr.org/vpr-news/2021-09-04/rep-john-killacky-publishes-new-book-reflecting-on-his-30-years-of-cultural-work
Vermont Conversation:
https://vtdigger.org/2021/09/19/vermont-conversation-john-killacky-on-culture-wars-and-the-night-trump-came-to-vermont/
The Other Paper:
https://www.vtcng.com/otherpapersbvt/news/around_town/a-living-archive/article_7456926c-1c95-11ec-b913-b37bc9655bd6.html
The Arts Fuse:
https://artsfuse.org/238666/author-interview-vermonts-john-killacky-at-the-service-of-art-critique-and-civic-conversation/
Seven Days:
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/page-32-short-takes-on-five-vermont-books/Content?oid=34019044
AlamogordoTownNews.com:
https://2ndlifemediaalamogordo.town.news/g/alamogordo-nm/n/51195/book-review-review-because-art-commentary-critique-conversation-john-r
48 Hills:
https://48hills.org/2022/03/john-killackys-because-art-is-an-evergreen-call-for-creative-survival/
Lavender Magazine:
https://lavendermagazine.com/our-scene/because-art-john-killackys-latest-work-reflects-on-his-journey/
North Country Public Radio:
https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/45724/20220413/books-because-art
Across the Fence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-3eC_fm5Q8
On the Waterfront:
https://www.cctv.org/watch-tv/programs/john-killacky-author-because-art-commentary-critique-and-conversation?fbclid=IwAR0DLGpTI3mCAw59vc3B-zpNu0GP-Ld0HG4FXz3VxMw7VvDVXyTGjNn0KmQ
All Things LGBTQ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORUNBH0phvA
Studio Stories: Reminiscing on Twin Cites Dance History:
https://www.arena-dances.org/studio-stories-reminiscing-on-twin-cites-dance-history/?fbclid=IwAR3Ea_UwM-Ok4ry4xO7lSvhxUkBcinIRfXNcwMXTTXpArD9_DvZy2zx0v6I
Amber Live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lClYCvLyxLA
Vermont Made, Vermont Arts Council:
https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/blog/vermont-made-john-killacky/
Vermont Humanities:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2m4LewRNjU
Also enjoy my 2003 Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology, Queer Crips: Disabled Gay Men And Their Stories.
