Our friend, colleague, co-author and brilliant artist and scholar Keith Aoki died yesterday in his house in Sacramento. He was 55 years old.Ke
ith, who in addition to being an artist was a distinguished professor at UC Davis law school, leaves behind his wife Mona and two nine year old daughters. Also about a million friends. We are all devastated. A fund is being set up for the benefit of his kids. Those who wish to pledge to it should send an e-mail to me at boyleATlaw.duke.edu
Keith, Jennifer Jenkins and I created Bound By Law together. A comic about the apparently unsexy topic of copyright law and fair use, it has sold thousands of copies and has been downloaded — for free — by more than 500,000 people worldwide. Most law professors are lucky if their work is read by a few hundred. Keith’s artistry meant he could reach hundreds of thousands, and could teach them about law and crea
tivity in the process.
It is hard in a few words and pictures to convey the sheer scope of Keith’s work. Have you ever heard about so-called bio-piracy — the taking of plant genetic resources from the developing world that are then tweaked, and layered with new intellectual property rights? Keith wrote the book on it. Literally. 
Or did you ever wonder if aesthetics — particularly changing ideas of architecture and urban planning — had a political effect on housing patterns and segregation in American cities? Think it would be kind of cool if someone wrote a history of that? Someone did. It is called Race, Space and Place. And it is by Keith. Oh, and hey, it would be great if someone documented the rise of “regionalism” in US immigration politics — like the Arizonan immigration legislation. You might want to read “Welcome to Amerizona: Immigrants Out!” Guess who wrote that. While you are at it, you could also read about critical race theory, or the distributive effects of intellectual property, or open source plant development. How about a critical analysis of the politics of farm labor? Try “Pastures of Peonage?: Agricultural Concentration and Labor Migration: The Case of North America in the Early 21st Century” Asian American electoral participation in 2008? Keith’s got that covered too.
The thing is, I haven’t even scratched the surface. Keith’s work is so much broader. And it was passionate work. Keith cared about injustice, about exclusion — something he understood on a visceral level. Unlike some people who are great at the rhetoric of equality, but terrible at the practice, Keith’s personal behavior was a complete mirror of his political views. He was such a gentle, decent man. He was so humble that he treated everyone as if they were not only his equal, but practically his senior. As I write this, I am getting e-mail after e-mail from junior scholars who explain that they just have to write to me, to contribute to this fund, because they met this really incredible guy once, or a couple of times, and they — somewhat in awe of attention from this very distinguished senior person — instead found themselves being treated with incredible kindness and respect, offered help, given advice and assistance. In the world of academia, that kind of conduct is sadly rare. As one person wrote “On numerous occasions, Keith was very kind to me for no apparent reason, i.e., I hardly knew him and there was no apparent self-interest. Though our acquaintance was brief, I would like to do something.” I have h
ad 20 e-mails like that this morning alone.
Keith wasn’t just an incredible scholar. He was also a musician. A good one. See the young guy at the bottom of the picture? That’s him in Chameleons — a really interesting 80’s art rock band. Keith Aoki, violin and guitar. Later in life Keith would play bass in the Garden Weasels — which he with typical self-deprecation — described as “ok for a band made up of law professors.”
I knew Keith as an academic and respected him — he was a major presence in intellectual property law alone, let alone all of the other areas in which he wrote. I helped him become an academic, offered him advice on his early work, and watched with delight as he opened his wings and soared — all the while insisting to all around him, apparently seriously, that he knew he was really an impostor in the world of academia, a fraud, an interloping artist who would be discovered any moment and given the old heave-ho. He really never knew how much he was respected as a scholar and an intellectual. But if I 
have a particular insight into him and his work, it is his artistry — something that many of his colleagues know little about. [Edit — in the comments, John Perry Barlow inevitably says it much better than me. To be a scholar of a subject — a great one — but also to be able to draw comic books on the same theme? “There was no one even remotely like him. It was as if Feynman had produced comix about quantum physics.”]
For some people, I am sure, Keith’s comic books seemed like a diversion from his true intellectual activities. I have to admit, though I loved comic books as a kid, I once probably shared that feeling. Nothing could have been further from the truth. First of all, there was the sheer depth of Keith’s artistic references. See the way the silver surfer emerges from a wave? Notice the stylized foam? (click the image to see it larger) That is a perfect rendition of Hokusai’s “Great Wave off Kanagawa” one of Japan’s most famous paintings from the early 19th century, slyly inserted into a panel about a documentary on surfers. Other references were more familiar 
— and just as brilliant in their evocation of the emotion, or the intellectual point Keith was trying to convey.
Jennifer, our coauthor, described it thus
“Sheer, playful, delightful talent – what Keith could do with a pencil or pen, the ways he transformed ideas into those stunning images, each with a unique Aoki imprint, every one was a new gift that you would need time to savor and get to know and Marvel at. In his Animated mind that Aoki library of influences, adored, stacked, sifted, understood, as only he did- “well, what I was thinking was, Jamie and Jennifer, this would be like Jamie Hernandez…., Robert Crumb,….. Jack Kirby”; it went way beyond that, this movie, that book, the whole corpus of the art history canon, or the obscure gem in that dusty corner, this 
perfect reference no one without his Escher scaffolding and 4D Rosetta Stone could have summoned.” And oh, there were so, so many references. You need to read the whole thing to realize.
The thing is we were a team. Working on our new comic on musical borrowing, we’d have these astounding Skype calls in which we’d design the pages, there would follow 30 indescribable minutes of complex musical history, copyright law, culture jamming, and Keith would draw them. Ever imagine having a brilliant genie to whom you could say, “Hey, give me a version of Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People that comments on the downloading war. I’d like a lawyer and a downloader locked in battle, tuning forks instead of muskets, USB k
eys instead of pistols. Oh, and make it REALLY beautiful…”
Well if you can imagine that, you can imagine working with Keith, who produced this… colored by our brilliant colleague Balfour Smith. Keith “I’m a monochrome guy.” More humility. And Keith produced such stunning images. There were the superb — almost eerily perfect — evocations of famous rock stars.
The hilarious visual puns. Why shouldn‘t Larry Lessig be the Statue of Liberty, leading a lost tribe of remixers to a new land? And imagine what it felt like when Jennifer and I proposed that image to him.. and the text “Give me your Wired, remixing masses, yearning to be free” and got this in return. When Larry stepped down as chair of Creative Commons, I ga
ve him a poster of that drawing. I didn’t think to ask Keith to sign it because — hey, it was Keith. I thought we’d have unlimited time to celebrate his genius. Time makes idiots of us all.
I don’t know how we will finish the music comic now. Keith told us he wanted to finish it as his memorial — during a surreal Skype call in which he told us of his diagnosis as an apology for not having finished the most recent round of drawings. Of course, being Keith, he was convinced he could still manage to finish the comic despite his illness. He said he might have a year. He swore us to secrecy, of course, not wanting “to be a burden.” Two weeks later he was dead. We will try to finish it — how can we not? But how to replace the irreplaceable? I had not previously understood the power of the mundane metaphor “heartbroken.” Our hearts feel… broken.
Keith was fond of sly references. In his latest article — a comic forthcoming in the Ohio Northern Law Review — Keith’s character, the same one pictured at the top of this blog post, wears a T shirt with an ever changing slogan. The final three panels are these.
Look closely at the T shirt. It says “You Can’t Avoid the Void.” And we can’t — any of us.
This is what one of the people contributing to the fund for his daughters wrote. “But mostly I remember how you and Jennifer would light up when describing your work with him–and what a cool, and daring, and brilliant idea I thought it was for you to join forces with the one-and-only-comic-book-artist-slash-copyright-scholar. I suppose that’s saying something when someone’s light shines so brightly even as reflected on other people’s faces.” That was Keith. No, we can’t avoid the void. But some of us shine so very, very brightly that the shadows are dispelled — at least for a while.
A friend, a brilliant scholar, an amazing man, a true art warrior we lost one of the best among us.
Oh, I can’t believe it. I knew Keith in Detroit, in the 70’s when he made his green structures. he was very intense and serious ( today that is known as focused).
He was a good person. And, a renaissance man.
I am sorry for all of us, but you, Jennifer and Jamie, have my particular compassion. There was no one even remotely like him. It was as if Feynmann had produced comix about quantum physics.
Keith was one in a million, Im still waiting eagerly to read “theft”, “seed wars” and some of his work I still havent picked up. I grieve alongside his friends and family.
About how many can we say that he left so many heartbroken? I haven’t spent quality time with Keith since the 1990’s but still break into tears periodically when I think about him — what a loss for all of us. Nell
Keith was equal parts profound, fun, altruistic, and imaginative. I feel blessed to have known him.
RIP Keith. Thanks for being such a punker. I read and shared your comics many times over the years.. My favorite line is still “Drop a Footnote!” the footnote crashes as an anvil down through all of the frames on the page. I also remember “gratuitous footnote to all of my colleagues,” which proceeded to mention a score of Oregon Law authored works. We were 1L’s during your first year and we couldn’t believe how unique you were. It was wonderful to be reunited recently and to see your beautiful new family. I believe that the definition of an artist is someone whose expression is indomitable. You were an artist, and fortunately for us your expressions are alive and well.
Keith and I from the same home town of Trenton, Michigan. He was a year older. We were not close friends, but we were friendly. We were/are both musicians (guitar) and I remember his early drawings he made in high school (he liked to use Bic pens). I lost track of him after high school until I found him recently via the internet on the UC Davis law school faculty. His death is a shock. I would like to have reconnected with him as we both lived in California for a long time, but I was unaware of this.
I will miss not seeing you down the halls of King Hall, preparing materials for your class, your sense of humor, your kindness……………… YOU.
R.I.P.
I knew Keith during his days in Trenton. He was a genius who worked hard. I can’t believe he is gone. Unbelievably sad loss. Even though I haven’t seen him in 0ver 30 years, I’ll miss him.
I am speechless, and for me, that’s really saying something. I feel so fortunate to have had an opportunity to study copyright law from him; of course if he were here, he’d say I studied with him. I remember leaving every class session in awe and wonder.
To me, Keith Aoki will always be a talented artist and musician, a brilliant scholar, a great professor and mentor, and a REALLY cool guy. My heart and my prayers go out to his wife and children who I know he loved very much – he often told me so.
To second what Jamie said, Keith was as unfathomably kind as he was talented, a polymath whose humanity might very well have been his greatest skill. The void he leaves is matched only by his legacy.
I knew Keith many years ago in Trenton, MI. He was a good friend of my older brother. We went to see Bob Dylan together in Toronto in 1978 and on a few other dates. He always impressed me as an artist and musician and a completely unique individual. I have never been in contact with him over the years, but always admired him and never forgot him. I am shocked and saddened by his unexpected loss. I am not surprised that he accomplished great things in life. My heart goes out to his family.
We miss you, Keith. I hope you are somewhere vibrating between a particle and a wave, grinning at us with your deep intelligence.
I was good friends with Keith in Trenton in the early 70’s. He was such a unique person, always, always drawing till wee hours of the night, filling up on coffee to keep him awake! An amazing artist and musician and just so intelligent. Yet he had a childish side about him that would make me laugh. I always knew he would go far in life. He was a very caring, genuine person.
It seems he has touched many lives and will be missed dearly. God bless his family and I pray that Gods Grace and Peace cover them through this difficult time.
It’s hard to believe you’re gone, I wanted to think it was one of your performance art projects, like the time you talked me into painting myself white and standing like a statue at the Detroit Art Institute. But I guess it’s true. I know it’s been decades but I always assumed that we would one day get together for late night coffee again. We packed much into our brief but intense friendship. Farewell old friend. Laugh hardy.
Keith Aoki – the quintessential gentleman and scholar. First career in fine art, then law school, followed by two years of practice in a firm, then law professor. And a great law professor.
Also a musician. A broad thinker, a prolific scholar, and at the same time a humble and thoughtful human being.
A true friend to students and to his academic colleagues.
He will be sorely missed.
I knew Keith for a short period of time while we were students at Wayne State and we worked together at McGregor Memorial Conference Center. He was always cheerful and easy to get along with. Always willing to lend a hand. Very talented, yet modest. Tried to convince him to get his comics published. Sorry to see him go.
[…] was saddened to hear the news about IP Professor Keith Aoki’s passing today. I met him only once, but he was very warm, friendly and […]
I was one of the many here in Detroit, at Wayne State University, who were fellow students in the Art Department who admired Keith’s work. He was doing monumental sculptures, performing collaboratively with multi-media and sound artists, and having important shows of his work in his very early twenties. His comic books back then were biting, satirical, wryly humorous.
I saw him as being totally focused, and was amazed but not surprised when he went into Law. Just two weeks ago I was suggesting to a colleague that he should get Keith’s comics on copyright law. As an art professor myself now, I use it in classes to explain a concept that is always confusing but completely necessary for artists to understand and utilize.
He has never been forgotten here! There was an exhibition of Cass Corridor Art at the Elaine Jacobs Gallery of WSU; his work was prominently featured and discussed. So when the news of his death hit this area, and travelled around Facebook, it was absolutely shocking. Numbing. The conversations and anecdotes were shared amongst an arts community that has always and still does cherish its talent.
There is a photograph posted of Keith by Sheree Rensel on Facebook of the Keith that we knew then and shall always remember….the young, cocky, sensitive, introspective, and strangely vulnerable genius boy who was just at the beginning of a glorious career.
[…] so many others, we were stunned to learn that law professor, cartoonist, copyfighter and digital rights stalwart […]
This is a beautiful and moving tribute. All true. Most of all that “Time makes idiots of us all.” I can’t believe I didn’t make better use of the last time I saw him. I didn’t know it would be the last. “Now” is always the right time to spend time with people who put out the positive energy Keith did. He was a mentor and a friend to me (as to so many others) and I felt his simply being in the world seemed to make the it a better, safer, funnier, more joyous place. It seems less of all of those things now. He will be sorely missed by people he never met.
I knew Keith for a few years as his student and assistant at the University of Oregon School of Law. After sitting in on one of his classes, Keith inspired me to apply to U. of O. and I ended up working for and with him on various projects, including working with the band, Negativland, on their “DisPepsi” release. Keith’s often impish and anarchistic persona never belied the fact that he was also a serious academic. He was a compassionate committed visionary and voice of the oppressed. I will greatly miss his humor, passion and FTW attitude that informed everything he did and everyone he taught. Godspeed, Sensi.
I am truly in awe of Keith. He was incredibly generous with his brilliance, humor and kindness. Such a fine fine soul. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and close friends who bear the brunt of the void left by his death.
[…] Texte, Bilder und Musik nicht entziffern kann. Meine Leser sind darauf sicher besser vorbereitet. RIP, Keith Aoki; Jennifer Jenkins Remembers Keith Aoki. [↩]Was ist Creative Commons? […]
[…] von 55 Jahren am 26. April 2011. Seine Mitautoren haben ihm wunderbare Nachrufe geschrieben. ((RIP, Keith Aoki; Jennifer Jenkins Remembers Keith Aoki.)) Aoki war wohl zuerst Künstler – Zeichner, Maler, […]
[…] 26 at 3:00 pm in King Hall. Additional tributes on Professor Aoki: the School of Law at UC Davis, The Public Domain and The Chronicle of Higher […]
[…] Keith Aoki, a professor of law at the University of California, Davis, who helped create Bound by Law? Tales of the Public Domain, a comic book about copyright law and fair use, died on April 26, 2011. He was 55 […]
Keith was my friend in Highschool … way back in the early ’70’s …
Like many of you that posted here, Keith was very dear to me in those years. I feel a great sense of loss, even though it’s been decades, the memories came flooding back …
… late night coffee talks, his sweet guitar and violin, we were doing a lot of soul searching back in the day and it was lovely to bounce ideas around and explore the “meaning of life” and write poetry.
He kept in touch on his 72 “road trip” to CA … I got letters Letters came with return addresses like 1 Universe Boulevard, Ozone Heights, Idaho, USA or a poem Keith wrote from “Somewhere-on-the-Planet Earth, USA I have to share …
see next post … it should stand alone
Bye Keith … you will always be in our hearts!
“A Song for a Song” by Keith Aoki
Well, don’t talk too hard
You need your breath
Redeem your words
Give them life’s best.
Make true your wants
Let others want
In a blazing smoke it rises
In a blazing fire, the smoke it rises
You don’t have to believe it, but it rises, to the sky
Balance
It knows
It shows
It flows
It grows
Balance
Won’t you see my face
Won’t you read my eyes
Let’s have this the start
Of incredible size
Make true your song
Let others sing
Singing,
Keith
[…] αφορμή τον θάνατο του Prof. Keith Aoki, έπεσε στα χέρια μου το “Bound By Law?”, ένα comic γύρω από […]
I just learned
And I am sad
There is a hole in my heart.
I met Keith in high school and learned about so many things from him, we moved to NYC in the late 70s. When I met him he was an artist and kind of a hippie wearing a flowered shirt, dark purple tinted glasses and a medallion with long hair.
The first time I saw him he was at school playing the fiddle very fast and singing with a Southern accent–hard to forget since it was so unique. He always talked about other people’s creative accomplishments and introduced me to the work of authors, artists, and filmmakers including Jorge Luis Borges, Richard Brautigan, Ursula K. Le Guin, Akira Kurosawa, Tony Smith, the Cass Corridor artists and others that I probably never would have known about. It was as if these creative people formed a world that Keith lived in. I appreciate all that I learned from him.
Keith was a fellow student at Wayne State and I was in awe of his talents, wisdom, and kindness. His light shone very brightly back then and still does. Thank you, Keith.
Keith was a wonderful inspiration to me and I was shocked and very saddened to lose him. I still can’t believe it. I’m one of the many junior people (10 years ago) who Keith reached out to and provided such consistent encouragement and reinforcement. His work was an inspiration. I will be giving a lecture at Univ. of Louisville, today, which I have dedicated to Keith’s memory.
Also there is a conference at Hofstra Law School this weekend, a portion of which is dedicated to honoring Keith including an award in his name and a panel devoted to exploring his work as a legal scholar.
[…] died in April 2011 at age 55 – https://www.thepublicdomain.org/2011/04/27/rip-keith-aoki/. Read his book now. Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 Health, Social Progress TAGS: indigenous […]
I too went to Trenton High School with Keith. I just heard of his death on facebook and am quite saddened by the news. He was a great guy; friendly, super talented in so many ways, and of course the smartest guy I knew. Somewhere I still have some of his early comics, which I will figure a way to post if I can find them. RIP Keith
I knew Keith back in his Boston days. I remember commenting to mutual friends after meeting him for the first time that I had no idea what a genius really looked like, but was pretty sure Keith fit the bill. An unbelievable musician, artist and scholar. Fair winds and following seas Keith.
Keith was in the center of the creative core in Detroit in the late 1970’s. Here are two of his comic strips from that time:
jpallas.com/aoki
https://cjrl.columbia.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Dedication_July_2012.pdf