Finland back into a lived space, literally the home he shared with some of the film’s protagonists who continue to care for his archive. Rirkrit Tiravanija and his crew steady the camera on John Giorno who performs his poems, memoirs, and music works. Here, the camera as a vehicle for archive-making creates the homage simply through its ability to record. The devastation of HIV/AIDS is the barely visible link between the works by Cokes and Lee, and certainly, illness such as heart attacks or strokes often precedes death. A profound sense of loss is just under the surface of this touching exhibition. The works, whether exuberant or meditative, elevate the artists’ voices through bodies, images, and sound to conjure up other bodies as they were. Johal has taken us into circles of care for those who were and that which is cherished. The underlying poetics of sadness in this exhibition, with its expression of care, and the aggregate of longing to secure a place for remembrance, to reach back to a person, a scene, is itself an inspiration. It is the seven artists in their making and remaking with deference and love, with new languages of celebration and loss that comprise this exhibition’s ultimate gifts. I would like to thank Shane Akeroyd for generously offering us the opportunity to present video works from his amazing moving-image collection and to Hana Noorali, the collection’s online curator, for her guidance and collaboration throughout the project. We thank all the participating artists for sharing their compelling and provocative works with us and our audiences. We are so grateful to authors Gaëtan Thomas, Wong Binghao (Bing), Piper Marshall,
BETTI-SUE HERTZ is the Director and Chief Curator at the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery. Recent curatorial projects include Rubén Ortiz-Torres: Zonas de Colaboración ; Shifting Shorelines: Art, Industry, and Ecology along the Hudson River ; Angela Su: Melencolia; and The Protest and the Recuperation .
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