Lee Ranaldo

Lee Ranaldo (b. 1956) is an American musician, artist, and writer, best known as a guitarist and co-founder of Sonic Youth. Alongside his music practice, Ranaldo has maintained a sustained engagement with visual art, poetry, and publishing, producing artist books, prints, and written works that extend his practice beyond the band.

His involvement in Mike Kelley's Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile, recorded live at Artists Space, New York, in 1986, places him within the fertile overlap between the downtown New York experimental music and art scenes of the period.

Publications and recordings gathered here document Ranaldo's involvement in art-adjacent projects and collaborations. Original and period items.

  • Mike Kelley Plato’s Cave, Rothko’s Chapel, Lincoln’s Profile (with Sonic Youth) / The Peristaltic Airwaves (2012) double CD in sealed jewel case. Purple-toned cover image featuring cave-like formations with white typography. Published by Compound Annex Records. Reverse of sealed Mike Kelley double CD showing track information, recording credits, performance details, and a black-and-white photograph of Kelley. Includes references to Sonic Youth, Artists Space, New York, and KPFK Radio, Los Angeles.

    Mike Kelley — Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile (with Sonic Youth) / The Peristaltic Airwaves, Compound Annex, 2012

    Mike Kelley — Plato's Cave, Rothko's Chapel, Lincoln's Profile (with Sonic Youth) / The Peristaltic Airwaves, Compound Annex, 2012