MICHAEL SMITH > BABY IKKI





Baby Ikki (On the Street), 1978


One of Smith's earliest performances of the "Baby Ikki" character.


Carmen's 6th Birthday Party, 1995


A girl’s sixth birthday is made memorable by the surprise appearance of Ikki in his saggy nappy. 


Baby Ikki’s 25th Birthday Party, 2000


Invited to the Impakt Festival in the Netherlands, Baby Ikki, in turn, invites the children of Utrecht to attend his birthday party. 


Playground, 2002


A collaboration with the artist Seth Price modeled after amateur home movies, replete with pre-loaded graphics and saccharine synthesized music.


Baby Ikki’s 33rd Birthday Party, 2008


Ikki’s 33rd year of being 18 months was celebrated at Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI) in Chelsea, New York. 


A Voyage of Growth and Discovery, 2009


Mike Kelley and Michael Smith's feature-length video A Voyage of Growth and Discovery follows the existential journey of Baby Ikki over several days at Burning Man, a festival of "radical self-expression."




Camp Kid-Friendly, 2009


For Performa 09, Smith presented Camp Kid Friendly, a live Baby Ikki spectacle staged within the exhibition of A Voyage of Growth and Discovery at SculptureCenter.




Baby Ikki’s 40th Birthday Party, 2015


Baby Ikki, the perpetual infant, celebrates his 40th birthday party at Participant Inc.


Performing John Cage, 2015


In conjunction with There Will Never Be Silence: Scoring John Cage’s 4’33” at the Museum of Modern Art, Smith transposes the score through Baby Ikki.


Baby Ikki at Mumok, 2015


Baby Ikki tours the Mumok Collection.















Baby Ikki at The Museum


Formatted and designed like a children's board book, Baby Ikki at the Museum features the eighteen-month-old character posing in front of works of art in the Whitney Museum of American Art.






Mark