Academy Records is the art practice of Stephen Lacy.

Stephen Lacy (b. 1969, Indiana) is interested in many forms: fine art, of course, but also design, film, comic books, radio and rock music, especially that which was popular on FM radio in the Midwest of the 1970s and 80s. After years playing in rock bands and studying broadcasting and studio art, he rooted his work in contemporary art because it’s where everything can collide into new formats. Inspired by both the enterprising conceptual artists of mid-century America as well as small regional record labels, Lacy began working under the name Academy Records in 2000.

As the pseudonym suggests, Academy Records’ work explores ideas around the cultural record—that is, how the stories we create get recorded, distorted, and distributed. Academy Records projects have consisted of vinyl records and live performances, yes, but also of drawings and schematics, printed ephemera, designed objects, films, assemblages, multi-media installation and more.

Music and geometric abstraction are also integral to Academy Records’ productions. They are aesthetic through lines, tying a project’s multi-media elements together and to a central narrative or theme, like historical events, abandoned landscapes, or personal memories. Altogether, Academy Records’ work is akin to 1970s grand excess: the concept album, a connected series of ideas disparate in style but linked through form, system, or sound.