Jeremy Ayers

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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, 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 Jeremy Ayers, he became involved (as "Sylva Thinn") with Andy Warhol's Factory in the 1970s.[4] Ayers wrote for Interview Magazine and 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 the Occupy Wall Street movement respectively.[2][4]

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 their 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]

It's a heartbreaking loss. We met at 16 and had a long friendship. He was part of that Athens scene in the mid '70s—poets and artists—that the B-52s came out of. He was a big inspiration and became a mentor to Ricky [Wilson] and me. He was gentle, generous, kind-hearted and truly engaged—always with a sparkle in his eyes. He touched so many people over the years, yet remained who he was the whole time.

— Keith Strickland, [2]

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."[6] In addition to photographs taken by Ayers, the exhibit included photography done by other artists taken "in the same spirit" of his work.[6]

In 2017 Ayers's friend Michael Stipe presented an art installation in his honor at the Durham, North Carolina, Moogfest.[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 taxomonic expert Douglas Booher.[7] 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."[8]

Traditionally, binomial taxonomy — how new or revised species are named — follows a grammatical gender binary (see International Code of Zoological Nomenclature § Gender agreement). This means that when a species is named after a human, the specific name (the second of the pair of names) will end with one of two suffixes:[7]

  • an "-ae" suffix to honor individual women or groups of women; for example Adelomyrmex dorae after myrmecologist Dora Luz Martínez Tlapa, or
  • an "-i" suffix to honor individual men, groups of men, or groups of people of mixed gender; for example, Sphecomyrma freyi after a couple who found that species' type specimen, the Freys.

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.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ "Charles Ayers Obituary (1948 - 2016) - Athens, GA - Athens Banner-Herald". Legacy.com. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Friends Remember Athens Artist Jeremy Ayers". Flagpole Magazine. November 2, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Brown, Emma (May 15, 2017). "Michael Stipe's MoogFest Tribute to Jeremy Ayers". Interview. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b Conlan, Jaime. "Jeremy Ayers' offbeat photography celebrated in month-long exhibit". Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Sparkes, Matthew. "Ant species given first gender-neutral scientific name". New Scientist. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  8. ^ 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.

External links[]

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