Highlights Tour | Common Sense

[music] >> Hi, welcome to the Brooklyn Museum. I'm Catherine Morris and I'm one of the co-curators of Common Sense, an exhibition >> [music] >> marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is an exhibition [music] that was undertaken to really think about the ways that contemporary art can interact with historical [music] realities and present a vision of the United States that includes its complexities, its achievements, um the current struggles that we [music] still face and also uh think about how contemporary [music] dialogues continue to be shaped by our history. And towards that, we started the [music] exhibition planning from two really important historical tracks. The exhibition opens with two historical documents written by Thomas Paine, the celebrated American philosopher, abolitionist, and nationalist. Paine's two texts, starting with Common Sense, which gives us the name of our exhibition, was drafted to really convince the American public in the colonial era that secession from Great Britain was possible. Common Sense is a work that transformed for many people in the United States during the colonial period the idea that independence was possible. And so it is often credited as the catalyst [music] for making the revolution possible. We've also added another document by Paine that it was written several years later called The American Crisis. And this is a work that begins with the famous line, "These are the times that try men's souls." Which continues to feel very resonant [music] to many people. The American Crisis is a text that was utilized during the Revolutionary War to continue to inspire troops. [music] There are apocryphal and other stories of the text being read to troops by George Washington and others as a way of building morale and continuing to have people focus on the goals of the revolution to gain independence. Taking these two foundational texts of American history, we then move into a series of contemporary works of art in much the way that Paine's foundational texts were meant to inspire the public. One of the greatest things that artists do for us is invite us to [music] think differently, to think about the ways in which we can expand our own understanding of history, of contemporary culture, >> [music] >> of what's important to us as a culture and as individuals. And this [music] exhibition represents artists who have presented works that really >> [music] >> invite us to make that connection between the personal and the political. >> Hi, I'm Kimberly Gant. I'm one of the curators of Common Sense through the Brooklyn Museum's permanent collection. This [music] exhibition is really kind of thinking about what it means to think about democracy and the protest movements and the movements that have just shaped [music] the United States over the since it's founding uh 250 years ago. And which our first is by the artist Paul Ramirez Jonas. It's called Commons and he's looking at a trope within the history of art, which is uh military statues and often those [music] are used to kind of commemorate fallen soldiers. They come out of a legacy of European sculpture tradition, often with a kind of war hero who is seated atop a uh horse with its legs raised. Um often that's signifying that the person who is being commemorated died in battle. It is about trying to kind of illuminate a particular figure, usually was a white male, um [music] uh someone of elite status. And so what the Commons piece is actually doing by not having the figure here is we're thinking about the the people who are not actually getting any sort of commemoration when they pass, the regular soldiers, not the generals or the kind of elite leaders. And so, he also purposely decided to put it such that the individuals [music] could post um objects on here because the idea of also of the comments is that it was a space that was usually kind of a grassy area within the center of a town that was actually used as a space for the general public, not just those in power, to be able to air their grievances [music] and actually get a sense of justice if they were feeling that their um powers were denied. So, he's really thinking about moments in which those who are usually powerless have an opportunity to actually have some modicum of power in their situation. So, two works from our contemporary art collection. The first is by Hank Willis Thomas, which [music] is a photographic uh diptych and is called Once Upon a Time in America, There Were No Slaves. And [music] he's really kind of taking an ironic statement there with the title because, as we know, there was enslavement in the United States, but [music] he's really thinking about that as an opportunity to discuss the importance of the contributions [music] of African-Americans um within the development of the United States, whether it's through protesting, um people having civil rights, um you know, advocating for their freedom, for their right to education, [music] for their right to just kind of be equal citizens. He's really just trying to kind of ask and have us remember that history [music] is really formed by all participants in the United States, not [music] just certain ones, and that history of itself can also be thought of in a very kind of complex way. What What's often [music] written is not the full story, it is a story. So, how can we think of >> [music] >> the the creation of a civilization, of a community, of a of a nation without considering all of the people that were a part of it, all of both [music] the beauty and the ugliness that contributed to where we are today? And some of those similar thoughts [music] are also in uh Kara Walker's work, the short title Freedom Fable, which takes her, you know, kind of iconic [music] silhouetted drawings that she does in black and colors and is in a beautiful [music] illustrated book that's actually thinking about the kind of fallacy of what [music] freedom means. You know, when you say freedom, there's a certain understanding that [music] it will be kind of everything you need and want, and the reality is that freedom is a fable. She takes this idea thinking [music] about that through a formally enslaved woman and the kind of trials that she goes through even after [music] she gains her freedom, that doesn't mean her life is without >> [music] >> senses of powerlessness and and agency. And so, the the way in which [music] we think about how we are supposed to be able to kind of achieve these moments of freedom and the ability to kind of do what we want, but for a large part of the population, both historically and [music] one could definitely say now, that sense of freedom really is a fallacy because even if you have the ability to kind of work where you [music] want or live where you want, there will always be obstacles in front of you, >> [music] >> and can you ever really overcome them? So, it's a, you know, it's not a kind of a joyous tale, but I think it reflects the >> [music] >> reality for a lot of people that you strive and strive and strive for a certain level of power, [music] and will you ever really get it in a, you know, in a very kind of capitalist society. >> [music] >> My name is Joyce Kozloff, and since about 1990, for about 35 years, cartography has been at the basis [music] of my work. Whoever makes the maps has the power, and that has always interested me. [music] So, when one country conquers another country, they change the names, they remap everything. >> So, this work from 2004 >> [music] >> was based on my mother gave me some game boards from her childhood, [music] which means they were from like the 1920s. We're talking about more than a hundred years ago, and they had a map of America, >> [music] >> and they had songs on them. And the songs were, I guess, the songs that were popular at the time. And I did a series based on that of nine paintings called American History. >> [music] >> It covers American history through our wars. And this one is called Sing-Along American History. There are three Sing-Along ones that have [music] these uh I cut them out, and then I enlarge them, and I collage them, these songs. And they all relate to the Civil War and race in America. As [music] soon as she gave them to me, it was just so clear that these [music] these songs were just indicative of a kind of uh deep [music] history, particularly in the American South. >> The garment factory, piecework, no benefits. I was unconscious and determined. I was an immigrant of the womb. >> Hi, my name is Jason Kao Hwang. Uh I'm very honored to have a score page for my oratorio, an operatic poem called Immigrant of the Womb, um that was produced in 1996. The score page was part of a portfolio um that was produced by an Asian American visual artist collective called Godzilla to show like several generations of Asian American uh activism. Immigrant of the Womb blends my personal history, uh my parents' history, um with that of the Boxer Rebellion. my father came here in a Boxer Indemnity Fund scholarship. So, that imagery was important to me. The recent story of that time was the grounding of the Golden Venture, which was a ship of immigrants that had come here and the ship ran aground in Far Rockaway. They were imprisoned for multiple months as their cases went through the courts. So, that was part of this story. And also, my both my parents' experiences in World War II and the and the Civil War in China that hurled them into coming to America and making their home here. So, this was a pondering of how history and even a personal history drives our generational and emotional makeup and influences our behavior. In music, when I blend, in this case, Chinese traditional instruments with Western European origin instruments, I seek a bridge between those sounds. I compose for a democracy of sound, all sounds being equal and merging and bridging together. And so, in in the music is the democracy. And so, being part of also this exhibit where all voices are equal and they're making something there's a synergy of something whole that is true to all of us. I think I'm very proud to be a part of. >> I'm Maynard Monroe. I'm a language-based artist. My practice all commences from language. I'm a visual poet. A visual wordsmith. I'm constantly whittling words. A lot of it is current event realized. I'm interested in making work that provokes, not pacifies. Work that engages society, not merely decorates it. I was invited to be part of the Common Sense installation here at the Brooklyn Museum, and I wanted to choose three [music] works that really spoke about the 250 and this pivotal time where we are in America right now. This very uh diff- difficult and this period of duress in the nation. This one particularly here is about inclusivity, and I'm appropriating the work of American folk legend Woody Guthrie into my work. In times of ugly, the best protest is beauty. We're living in difficult times artistically here at for our nation and for the world. It's a very challenging moment for many people in many countries on many levels. But, we have to find our joy sparks, too. So, in times of ugly and our My for me, my joy spark is making beauty or creating beauty, you know, out of the ashes of phoenix rises, making something hopefully something poignant, something powerful. Moving on. I particularly chose this one and I particularly chose this one to be on red because I think it really empowered it. The color and the language together was very powerful symbiotically. And it's the idea of how they're basically criminalizing dissent these days, and it's the highest form of patriotism is to speak out. It's freedom of speech. And to exercise that freedom. And you know, patriots come in all manner of persuasions, all shapes, [music] all colors, all forms. It feels enlightening that I am not going to stand in the shadow and be meek. I'm going to come into the light [music] and be bright and shine. And hopefully that shine will shine onto others. >> We're really excited [music] to have you come and see this exhibition. Thank you for hearing the tour about the Common Sense project and just really thinking about [music] this moment in time in which we are reminding our visitors the importance of art and the way in which it represents [music] the world in which we live uh past, present, and future and especially relates to history, community, politics, and society. And [music] we hope you enjoyed it as much as we have having it on view. Thanks so much.