Max Coffey (MaxKafe)

My creative process, is an adventure. The journey, is intuitive, interactive and iterative. I try to go beyond illustration, representation, stimulation and entertainment; to art with its own integrity, intrinsic beauty and value.

A Philosophy of Art

My definition of art is: human expression, with an actor, a medium and a percipient. Initially, the actor is the sole percipient, in a creative feedback loop. The actor begins with an idea, gathers and interacts. The process generates more ideas, gathering and interacting. When the actor exhausts the potentials they perceive, the process ends. The actor may or may not be aware of the many contexts that effect the process. Most art will not have a percipient other than the actor. This does not diminish its value.

Art is not description nor representation of something. The concept of art representing something else, lost its meaning as media technologies evolved. After art is conceptualized and created, it is what it is. It will endure or it will fade away.

Efficiency, or simplicity, is a foundational principle in all the arts.

Art requires conceptual integrity and craftsmanship.

Art succeeds when it has its own intrinsic value.

Art is a synthesis of physical and metaphysical.

Art is a combining of concrete and abstract.

Art is not exclusive. Every person creates.

Personal Information

MaxKafe is a pseudonym used by Max Coffey.

  • Max Laverne Coffey

  • Birth date: 24-11-1935

  • Birth place: Family farm, Edgar County, Illinois USA

  • East Donica Rural Elementary School, Coles County, Illinois 1941-1948

  • Kansas Illinois Elementary School 1948-1949

  • Kansas Illinois High School 1949-1953

  • Eastern Illinois University, Charleston Illinois 1953-1954

  • US Air Force, Enlisted Instructor, Aircraft Instrument Repair 1954-1958

  • Eastern Illinois University, Charleston Illinois 1958-1961 Graduated BS Education, Majors: Industrial Arts and Art

  • US Air Force, 1961-1967, Officer, Navigator

  • Eastern Illinois University, Charleston Illinois, 1967-1968, Graduated, MS Education, Major: Art

  • Mesa Arizona Junior High School, Art teacher, 1968-1970

  • Arizona Air National Guard, Officer, Navigator, 1969-1979

  • Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 1968-1984

  • Mesa Arizona, Westwood High School, Art Teacher 1970-1971

  • USAF Air Command and Staff College, 1973-1974

  • Mohave Community College, Art Teacher, 1974-1978

  • Scottdale High School, Industrial Arts Teacher, 1986-1987

  • Family relocated from Arizona to Oregon, Summer 1987

  • Retired, USAFR, Major, 1995

  • Relocated to Kaiserslautern Germany, 2005

Copyright Policy

The graphics and pattern designs are licensed under a liberal Creative Commons license. The blog, diaries, art and photos are licensed under a restricted Creative Commons license.

The Creative Commons Attribution, CC BY, license allows you to copy an image, use the image in a new work and distribute the original or modified work non-commercially or commercially; as long as you give credit to the author of the original.

The Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs, CC BY-NC-ND, license allows you to copy images and share them with others as long as you credit the author. These images can not be changed in any way or used commercially.