Michael Smith

  • Snapshot taken by Mike Kelley on the set of The Gong Show, ca. 1976.

    Michael Smith

    MICHAEL SMITH

    A JOKE THAT MIKE KELLEY TOLD on many an occasion:

    So, this drunk is sitting on a bus. A brunette gets on and pays her fare, and as she’s about to head to her seat the bus driver turns to her and says, “Tickle your ass with a feather?”

    “WHAT?!” cries the young woman.

    “I said, typical Michigan weather,” replies the driver.

    “Oh,” says the brunette. “Yes, it is.”

    Ten minutes later, a blonde gets on, and as she’s paying her fare, the bus driver turns, smiles, and says, “Tickle your ass with a feather?”

    “Pardon me?!”

    “I said, typical Michigan weather.”

    At this point, the drunk is beside himself

  • THE YEAR IN EDUCATION

    Sometimes people are good
    And they do just what they should.
    But the very same people who are good sometimes
    Are the very same people who are bad sometimes.
    It’s funny, but it’s true. It’s the same, isn’t it, for me and . . .
    Fred M. Rogers, 1967

    Labor Day Weekend 2010

    Yes! No school for a few days!

    Just got an invitation to do a project for the December issue of Artforum. Of course I misread the e–mail and thought they wanted a best-of list for 2010. Thinking I would try mixing it up, I came back at them with an idea inspired by Mister Rogers: I’d list stuff that was both the best and the worst





  • THE WORLD OF PHOTOGRAPHY: A project for Artforum

    WELCOME TO THE WORLD of Photography and open your eyes to a whole new way of seeing. Learn how to transform a seemingly ordinary everyday scene into something worthy of framing. Discover why photography has captured the imagination of photobuffs, scientists, and publicists for years.

    After reviewing almost all the material on photography, we have developed an alternative to the same old boring how-to instructional course which should prove beneficial to both the beginner and the skilled photographer. Even though light is at the root of photography, we need to go behind closed doors to see how a