Retrospectively

It sounds like an overwrought and clichéd story: tortured artist kills himself after the death of his girlfriend.

This was the case for Jeremy Blake, who allegedly walked into the ocean and drowned himself. A week earlier, he'd found his girlfriend, blogger and video game designer Theresa Duncan, dead in the apartment they shared above St. Mark's Church (which has its own fascinating history). According to friends, the couple had been acting erratically. They told stories of being followed and harassed by Scientologists, and went so far as to make their friends sign loyalty pledges to ensure they weren't agents of Scientology. In short, she and Blake were both scared, and they didn't seem to be in good health. Their loved ones were worried, but no one had expected their deaths, just a week apart in July of 2007.

Blake and Duncan in Venice, CA, photographed by Bret Haller

It would be impossible to sit here and give a concrete reason for their suicides, which, like most, are shrouded in uncertainty. The mystery behind their deaths has overshadowed any creative successes they achieved, as evidenced by not only this blog post, but several trendy magazine profiles published after they died. (Here is one from Vanity Fair, and another from New York Magazine.)

The work they left behind, I'd argue, is a far more compelling and enriching glimpse of what and how they thought. With that in mind, here are pieces of their work: a series of video games produced by Duncan for young female audiences, and a digital video made by Blake and inspired by Sarah Winchester.

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Rhizome and the New Museum present:
Chop Suey, Smarty, and Zero Zero
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- "Winchester Redux," by Jeremy Blake (2004)