MasterMind 2013 Honorable Mention: Kevin Arrow

Photo by Crystal Pearl

Kevin Arrow

Miami New Times' Mastermind Awards honors the city's most inspiring creatives. This year, we received more than 100 submissions, which our staff narrowed to an elite group of 30. We'll be profiling those honorable mentions, and eventually the finalists, in the weeks to come. This year's three Mastermind Award winners will be announced February 28 at Artopia, our annual soiree celebrating Miami culture. For tickets and more information, visit the website.

Artist Kevin Arrow lives in Miami Beach, an early migrant from New York having arrived in South Florida the 1970s with his parents. Arrow graduated from MDC, FIU, and the Art Institute of Philadelphia, before realizing that collecting was his passion.

Of course the word collecting doesn't do Arrow's actions justice. He amasses knowledge and uses it to create works of art. Speaking about one of his series, Arrow explains how it "investigates my interest in the behavior of collecting and the necessity to categorize objects. I am working with chance selections, seriality, and juxtaposing, in addition to the erasing of hierarchical distinctions."

Arrow, currently the Art & Collection Manager at the Miami Science Museum, explains his passion further. "I am a walking Miami art history lesson. I have been present, participated in, and witnessed many important moments in our city's collective creative history. I really love making art in and about Miami and am working on some amazing Mastermind like projects for the new Patricia & Phillip Frost Museum of Science opening in 2015."

Read on to find out more about Arrow, including his connections to pirate radio, Brad Pitt, and warlocks.

Courtesy Kevin Arrow

"Untitled (Family Diptych)," 2012 35mm Slides, Kodak Caramate projectors and audio

Cultist: In first grade, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Kevin Arrow: Warlock.

Courtesy Kevin Arrow

Untitled (Monday, December 31, 2012), 2012 Ink on vellum 8 ½ x 11 inches

Is there such a thing as collecting too much stuff?
Never, but I do believe in occasional purging in order to make space for new obsessions.

Who would play you in a movie about your life?
This guy:

What's your favorite thing about Miami?
Pirate Radio, Diversity, The Sky & Ocean.

Your least favorite thing about Miami?
Hurricane season.

2013 Mastermind Award Honorable Mentions:
Kevin Arrow

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