And I Must Scream
Saturday, January 29, 2022 - Sunday, May 15, 2022
AND I MUST SCREAM features works by ten contemporary artists in which monstrous, grotesque, and humanoid forms confront and give shape to the crises we collectively face today. Divided into five themes–corruption and human rights violations, displacement, environmental destruction, pandemics, and renewal–the exhibition begins by examining the monster as a creature of humanity's–our–own making. Through this lens, these issues are shown to be both urgent and interconnected.
Here the term "monster" refers to grotesque creatures or forms that represent a contrast to our rational understanding of order or rightness. In some cases the monster is captivating; in other cases, horrifying. In every case, the monster is the visual expression of uncertainty, forcing us to look more deeply at the systems we create and the power they hold. Monsters are the manifestation of ecosystems out of balance, and the disposal of the human resource to generate income.
This exhibition sits inside this unnerving space with artists who use these forms to make us uncomfortable, who create confusion between the grotesque and the captivating. This is, perhaps, the monster's most dangerous state: when it has agency, power, and control, but no ethical convictions to steer its decisions–when systems and structures operate without humanity. The goal, however, is not to lay blame specifically, but to emphasize the multiple ways in which we are interconnected with our environment, our political systems, and our cultural and social networks.
An imagined yet extreme potential consequence of ignoring this interconnectivity can be found in "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," Harlan Ellison's 1967 short story about the reduction of the human species to a source of energy for a computer that wages war on behalf of nation-states. The computer demolishes the world, controlling and torturing what remains of humanity. But the urge to scream in the face of oppression endures.
This exhibition is a call to action. Regardless of culture, time, or place, monsters have been used to represent the dangers of the unknown and uncertain. The hybridized creature that may engender fear at first sight may actually demonstrate that when we see ourselves in the monster–and in the Other–we can take ownership over our creations, and persuade them into actions of love, kindness, growth, and recovery.
This exhibition has been made possible through generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Charles S. Ackerman Fund, the Carlos Museum National Leadership Board, the Massey Charitable Trust, the LUBO Fund, and anonymous donors.
Click HERE to view a conversation between curator Amanda Hellman and artist Ganzeer and HERE to view a gallery talk by Hellman and Ganzeer.
Click HERE to view a conservation between Hellman and artist Fabrice Monteiro.
Click HERE to view an artist talk by Anida Yoeu Ali.
Click HERE to view the 30th annual Nix Mann Endowed Lecture presented by artist Laeila Adjovi.
Here the term "monster" refers to grotesque creatures or forms that represent a contrast to our rational understanding of order or rightness. In some cases the monster is captivating; in other cases, horrifying. In every case, the monster is the visual expression of uncertainty, forcing us to look more deeply at the systems we create and the power they hold. Monsters are the manifestation of ecosystems out of balance, and the disposal of the human resource to generate income.
This exhibition sits inside this unnerving space with artists who use these forms to make us uncomfortable, who create confusion between the grotesque and the captivating. This is, perhaps, the monster's most dangerous state: when it has agency, power, and control, but no ethical convictions to steer its decisions–when systems and structures operate without humanity. The goal, however, is not to lay blame specifically, but to emphasize the multiple ways in which we are interconnected with our environment, our political systems, and our cultural and social networks.
An imagined yet extreme potential consequence of ignoring this interconnectivity can be found in "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," Harlan Ellison's 1967 short story about the reduction of the human species to a source of energy for a computer that wages war on behalf of nation-states. The computer demolishes the world, controlling and torturing what remains of humanity. But the urge to scream in the face of oppression endures.
This exhibition is a call to action. Regardless of culture, time, or place, monsters have been used to represent the dangers of the unknown and uncertain. The hybridized creature that may engender fear at first sight may actually demonstrate that when we see ourselves in the monster–and in the Other–we can take ownership over our creations, and persuade them into actions of love, kindness, growth, and recovery.
This exhibition has been made possible through generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Charles S. Ackerman Fund, the Carlos Museum National Leadership Board, the Massey Charitable Trust, the LUBO Fund, and anonymous donors.
Click HERE to view a conversation between curator Amanda Hellman and artist Ganzeer and HERE to view a gallery talk by Hellman and Ganzeer.
Click HERE to view a conservation between Hellman and artist Fabrice Monteiro.
Click HERE to view an artist talk by Anida Yoeu Ali.
Click HERE to view the 30th annual Nix Mann Endowed Lecture presented by artist Laeila Adjovi.
