Jeremy Ayers

American artist, writer, photographer, and musician

Artist
writer
photographer
musician

Jeremy Ayers (1948 – October 24, 2016) was an American artist, writer, photographer, and musician.^[1] Ayers was a member of the Athens, Georgia, creative community. Early in his career he was Warhol superstar (under the name Sylva Thinn) and wrote a column for Interview magazine. He published three books of photography, and co-wrote songs for The B-52's and R.E.M.^[2]^[3]^[4] In 2021, a newly discovered species of ant (Strumigenys ayersthey) was named in his honor.^[5]

Life and death

Born Charles Jerry Ayers, he grew up in Athens, Georgia where his father Robert H. Ayers taught theology at the University of Georgia.^[6] In the 1970s, Ayers became involved with Andy Warhol's Factory as the androgynous "Sylva Thinn" (sometimes written as "Silva Thin") and wrote a column for Interview magazine.^[7]^[4]

Ayers published three books of photography (Aeronautica, 2011; Today in New York, 2011; and Occupy!, 2012), which featured scenes from Athens, New York City street life, and Occupy Wall Street.^[2]^[4] He also appeared in David Bailey's 1973 documentary on Warhol.^[8]

Ayers was credited as co-writer of "52 Girls" from the debut album of The B-52's.^[3] He also worked with fellow Athens musicians R.E.M., co-writing the song "Old Man Kensey" from the 1985 album Fables of the Reconstruction.^[4]

His father Robert was a civil rights advocate and professor of religion at the University of Georgia.^[2]^[5]

On October 24, 2016, Ayers died unexpectedly of a seizure at the age of 68.^[5]

Legacy

Following his death, the Athens Institute for Contemporary Art presented a month-long exhibition featuring Ayers's work titled "Out There: Photographs in the spirit of Jeremy Ayers."^[9] In addition to photographs taken by Ayers, the exhibit included photography done by other artists taken "in the same spirit" of his work.^[9]

In 2017 Ayers's friend Michael Stipe presented an art installation in his honor at Moogfest in Durham, North Carolina.^[3] The installation, titled "Jeremy Dance," featured footage of Ayers dancing to a 120 beats per minute disco song; Stipe then paired the dancing footage with music specially composed (using a Moog synthesizer and a Roland Juno) to match Ayers's movements.^[3]

In 2021 German entomologist Phillip Hoenle discovered a new species of ant, which he sent to Yale University taxonomic expert Douglas Booher.^[10] After receiving the blessing of Stipe, Booher decided to name the ant Strumigenys ayersthey after Ayers.^[5] The "they" in ayersthey refers to the singular they "in a celebration of gender diversity."^[11] According to Booher, Ayers himself identified as a gay man; the "they" suffix was intended to honor both Ayers's LGBT activism and the non-binary community.^[10]

References

^ "Charles Ayers Obituary (1948 - 2016) - Athens, GA - Athens Banner-Herald". Legacy.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Friends Remember Athens Artist Jeremy Ayers". Flagpole Magazine. November 2, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Brown, Emma (May 15, 2017). "Michael Stipe's MoogFest Tribute to Jeremy Ayers". Interview. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lamb, Gordon. "R.I.P. Artist and Athens Scene Fixture Jeremy Ayers". Flagpole. Archived from the original on October 27, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Hathaway, Bill (May 5, 2021). "How a Yale scientist and a rock star named an ant for a Warhol 'Superstar'". Retrieved January 12, 2022.
^ Ford, Wayne (January 30, 2018). "Memorial service for highly-regarded UGA religion professor set for Sunday". Online Athens. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
^ Creney, Scott; Herron, Brigette Adair (May 5, 2023). The Story of the B-52s: Neon Side of Town. Springer Nature. p. 16. ISBN 978-3-031-22570-3.
^ "Television and Radio". South Wales Argus. January 16, 1973. p. 2. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
^ ^a ^b Conlan, Jaime (March 21, 2017). "Jeremy Ayers' offbeat photography celebrated in month-long exhibit". Retrieved January 12, 2022.
^ ^a ^b Sparkes, Matthew. "Ant species given first gender-neutral scientific name". New Scientist. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
^ Reilly, Nick (May 7, 2021). "R.E.M's Michael Stipe gives blessing for ant species to be named after late friend Charles Ayers". NME. Retrieved January 12, 2022.