From Yale University Art Gallery:
Lazarus — Jefferson Pinder | Image Courtesy of the Artist at http://www.jeffersonpinder.com
Chicago-based interdisciplinary artist Jefferson Pinder creates performances, videos, and objects that challenge viewers to think critically about historical and contemporary social issues in America. His dynamic, experimental videos feature minimalist performances that convey narrative through movement, with music often advancing the story line. Part of the series Inertia Cycle, in which Pinder documented intense physical tasks as an abstract metaphor for social struggle, Lazarus(2009) explores notions of community and the limits on socioeconomic mobility. The subjects in his videos do not speak, but their actions resonate with the frustrations of everyday life. Pinder’s works subvert one-dimensional interpretations of African American identity with a nuance that is often lacking in today’s highly polarized society.
“As an interdisciplinary artist, I create performances, video work, and objects that challenge viewers to think critically about our highly polarized society. I explore the tangle of representations, visual tropes, and myths—referencing historical events and invoking cultural symbolism.
My video work features stylized representations of performers working themselves through exhaustion to unveil genuine emotion. My ‘action videos’ depict physical prowess with the body. The participants, in turn, communicate narratives through the physical tasks they perform.
I portray the body both frenetically and through drudgery in order to convey relevant cultural experiences. To get to the essence of this conversation, I place no restrictions on the tools that I employ, working with materials as disparate as Mercury light and glitter, I explore ways in which reclaimed materials convey rugged histories relating them to an African-American experience.” – Jefferson Pinder
Exhibition on View through February 22, 2018 | Visit Online
Location: Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel Street (at York Street), New Haven, Connecticut
Fee: Free to the public
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