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The Wizard of Awe
NOVEMBER 2024
Kevin Cooley (US)
Concept and photography:
Kevin Cooley
Texts:
Ken Miller
Kevin Cooley
Design:
Carel Fransen
Lithography:
Marc Gijzen
Print:
Albe de Coker (BE)
Ken Miller is often referred to on the internet as ‘the smoke guru’. His expertise in manufacturing smoke generators for air shows and other industries has made him a respected pyrotechnicst. However, his journey has been marked by both brilliance and misfortune.
Traumatised by a tragic accident that killed his business partner and best friend, Howard Snelson, and left him with severe burns, he turned to painkillers to deal with his physical pain and the guilt that consumed him. Despite these tragedies, Ken’s passion for pyrotechnics never waned. His property in southern Minnesota became a testing ground for his eccentric experiments, with burn scars and explosion craters dotting the landscape. This volatile world became the subject of a project that captured the essence of his life and work. Guided by Ken’s knowledge, Kevin Cooley (US) created three photographic series – Controlled Burns, Gathering Clouds, and Exploded Views – and extensively documented his visits to the rural farm, offering a surreal glimpse into Ken’s pyrotechnic world.
The story was eventually published as a photo essay in Popular Science entitled ‘The Wizard of Awe’. But the publicity proved to be Ken’s undoing. The article attracted the attention of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), leading to an investigation that revealed Ken’s continued involvement in the creation of smoke devices – a violation of federal law due to his previous convictions for manufacturing illegal explosives and possession of a firearm.
Throughout these legal battles, he expressed a deep sense of responsibility and remorse. He acknowledged his failures and the consequences of his actions. In the end, Ken was arrested and sentenced to nearly two years in federal prison, and faces a future without pyrotechnics. Yet he doesn’t blame Cooley for what happened, insisting that he saved his life by steering him away from a path of ‘bad choices’.
The Wizard of Awe is an ode to Ken Miller – a powerful testament to his life’s work as a pyrotechnicst and his subsequent redemption.
Kevin Cooley (1975) is an American artist based in Los Angeles who works across photography, video, and public installations. His work explores humanity’s relationship with the five classical elements – earth, air, fire, water, and aether – using a systems-based approach to examine environmental themes and the impact of technology. He challenges viewers to reflect on the sustainability of modern living and the psychological and practical struggles associated with environmental degradation. Cooley earned his M.F.A. in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His works have been featured in solo exhibitions, including Exploded Views at Laney Contemporary in Savannah, Georgia, and Still Burning at Kopeikin Gallery in Los Angeles. His public art installations include commissions for the Shay Hotel in Culver City and the California Air Resources Board in Riverside. Cooley’s work is housed in major public collections, including the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He has been nominated for the Prix Pictet in 2021. His focus on climate change, environmental degradation, and human survival have garnered critical attention, with features in Time Magazine, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and Harper’s Magazine.