It’s time to reflect on the insane amount of media coverage devoted to the tragic end to the tortured life of the King of Pop. Michael Jackson was a lot of things to a lot of people. His life was as strange as his death, and he will always remain the man in the mirror. When envisioning the King of Pop, what sort of image comes to mind? Do you see a member of the Jackson 5, a handsome man on the cover of the Thriller album, or a disguised lunatic hanging a child over a balcony? Artist Kelly Coats asked this same question when she created her phenakistiscope (old optical toy), titled Epic Thriller. This device was created for her solo exhibition at Rimjaus Gallery in 2005, and it was presented at The Brewery Arts Colony Gallery in 2008. Watching the wheel spin, is like watching a car wreck in slow motion, and so goes the life of the greatest entertainer of our lifetime. May he rest in peace.
