R.I.P. Stephen Irwin

The other day the world lost one of the most brilliant badass punk rock DIY faggots that has ever walked the face of the earth. I’m talking about my dear friend, Stephen Irwin, from Louisville, KY, who I attempted to interview for BUTT 24. In a tolerant Southern town that can at times be so banal and WASP-y, Stephen, with his weak ticker, made a difference every day, which is why when he didn’t make it to our interview, I decided I had to write about him anyway. My friend represented freedom and love, creative brilliance, and lived every day a balls-to-the-wall rocker; reckless, adorable, sexy, sensitive, shy yet personable. He was arm candy, a lover, partier, fashion plate, multiple heart attack survivor, collaborator, a partner in crime, my sister, an irreverent rule breaker, sleazy, charming, a yippie, a tastemaker, a decadent mother fucker, a Virgo bitch, an artist, the other woman, the revolution and most importantly he was a true gentleman who knew that every breath mattered and that the only way to live is to maximize your potential and go for it, grab it, live it, and do it no matter how many pennies it leaves you with at the end of the day. Even fresh out of the hospital you could count on Stephen to go the distance; that’s just how he rolled.

In the 90s Stephen owned a bar in Louisville called Sparks, one of the most amazing clubs this world has ever had. Stephen and Sparks went for broke every night in a blaze of the most beautiful DIY energy I have ever witnessed and for many years he played den mother to a wicked tribe of irreverent Kentucky misfits who made Sparks their home. Around the year 2000 he took to making art that defied description it is so elegant, mysterious, oblique, evocative, erotic, classic, questioning, masterful, reductive, and yet so simple. In 2008, he joined the INVISIBLE-EXPORTS gallery in NYC. His work is part of an exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum beginning Jan. 29th, in New York at the Allegra LaViola Gallery beginning Feb 2nd, in Philadelphia at Vox Populi beginning in April and in Cologne, Germany at the Gallerie Roepke beginning Jan 14th. His artwork will also grace the cover of the next issue of NY Arts Magazine. His memorial is this Saturday at the Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky at 4pm. I will be dj’ing a decadent dance set in his memory at the after party!