THE SHAPE OF THINGS
CARRIE MAE WEEMS
THU, DEC 2 - FRI, DEC 31, 2021
A NEW COMMISSION BY PARK AVENUE ARMORY
Carrie Mae Weems, an artist who has consistently and poignantly addressed the conditions of race in the United States, will create a multi-work installation and series of performances titled The Shape of Things. Weems’ unflinching gaze at what she describes as the “pageantry” and “circus-like” quality of contemporary American political life find form in a series of large-scale installations and a cyclorama (a panoramic image on the inside of a cylindrical platform) of six to eight projections of new and existing film footage where Weems addresses the turmoil of current events and the “long march forward.” Suggestive of a 19th-century carnival with dioramas based on spontaneous street memorials, peep shows, and a Pepper’s Ghost, The Shape of Things is an incisive, powerfully emotional, and critical reflection on events both deeply embedded in American culture and history and the explosive events of the past year.
Land of Broken Dreams Convening & Concert Series
Thursday, December 9–Saturday, December 11, 2021
This monumental series of installations is accompanied by LAND OF BROKEN DREAMS, a large-scale, multidisciplinary convening and concert series that will activate the Armory with a wide range of conversations, presentations, and performances featuring artists, poets, singers, dancers, thinkers, and scholars sharing work and exploring some of the most urgent issues facing society today.