Radical Acts of Care: Prologue
In recent years few keywords have been more urgent and utilized than “care.” Care in reference to systems of public and private health, care in relation to levels of social awareness and engagement, and care writ large as political warfare. That Old Testament directive “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the essence of care. Secular dispositions would call it the “golden rule,” and the idea dates to at least the early Confucian times. Indeed this rule can be found in almost every ethical tradition, as well as all the major religions in the world. Unfortunately, as the vernacular adaptation goes, those with the gold make the rules—but they do not always abide by them. As such this exhibition is concerned with radical praxis, with care as a countermeasure and agent for social change.
Unfolding in a sequence of discrete acts, this exhibition is a modest survey of past and contemporary artistic mobilizations of care in various forms. That care should be considered a radical act is somehow taken for granted in the global moment we are currently embroiled in—because the planet has seen better days. But care is not a benign position or immaculate state of being, free of inequities and opportunistic manipulation. As the anthropologist Shannon Mattern has written, we are never far from three endearing truths when considering the scales and dimensions of care: “1. maintainers require care; 2. caregiving requires maintenance; 3. the distinctions between these practices are shaped by race, gender, class and other political, economic, and cultural forces.” The artists assembled here as part of this exhibition make it their passionate business to interrogate the contours of these distinctions.
“Power,” a poem by Audre Lorde, opens with the following lines: “The difference between poetry and rhetoric / is being ready to kill / yourself / instead of your children.” This is certainly a distinction with resonance in this calamitous twenty-first century. Here is another poetic proposition with timeless relevance, from Folio 31a of the Babylonian Talmud: “That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is commentary. Go study.” Because the aspiration to knowledge and understanding of your fellow human beings is the most radical act of all. —Greg de Cuir Jr.
Exhibition acknowledgments: Radical Acts of Care (online version) is curated by Greg de Cuir Jr., and co-organized and designed by Oona Mosna. The concept was inspired by the legacy of Dr. Charles H. Wright, practicing physician (1943–1986), and founder of The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and Culture in Detroit. Radical Acts of Care is made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Knight Arts Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and with support from local donors and supporters. I Am Somebody by Madeline Anderson provided by Icarus Films with special thanks to Livia Bloom Ingram. The digital version of The House Is Black by Forough Farrokhzad is restored by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna and Ecran Noir productions. North American screening rights for the film provided by Janus Films / The Criterion Collection with extra special thanks to Brian Belovarac. Custom frame enlargements of The House Is Black provided by the Austrian Film Museum with assistance from Christoph Etzlsdorfer and Marcus Eberhardt. Thanks also to Jurij Meden of the Austrian Film Museum. Thank you to Tobias Hering and Carsten Spicher from Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Patrick Friel (Chicago), and the film and media art staff at the Block Museum for source recommendations. Special thanks to Aryan Kaganof of herri (South Africa). Untitled (M*A*S*H) by Simone Leigh courtesy of the artist. Special thanks to Emily Knapp and Rebecca Adib of Studio Simone Leigh, and Sophie Treharne Nurse of Hauser & Wirth for providing materials. Website programming and technical poetries by Eric Brockman of Space and Subject Creative. Technical assistance for moving image materials provided by Brandon Walley and Podcast technician and producer: Mike McGonigal of Maggot Brain Magazine. Special thank you to James King, Senior Technical Manager, TIFF Bell LightBox and Toronto International Film Festival, along with Eric Rosset and staff at CineSend. Rights, permissions for stills, artworks, portraits, and poems are identified throughout this multi-gallery show. If not otherwise acknowledged, all additional materials courtesy of participating artists. We thank them for their contributions.
This show is dedicated to Konstantin Antony. May he grow to be curious, and sensitive, and radical, a reader, and anti-war, and adventurous, and kind.
Greg de Cuir Jr.
Greg de Cuir Jr. is an independent curator, writer, and translator who lives and works in Belgrade, Serbia. In 2020 he has organized programs for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Anthology Film Archives (New York), Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam), and Kino Arsenal (Berlin), among others. Selected projects at linktr.ee/decuir_international Portrait by Ephraim Asili
Radical Acts of Care: Prologue
In recent years few keywords have been more urgent and utilized than “care.” Care in reference to systems of public and private health, care in relation to levels of social awareness and engagement, and care writ large as political warfare. That Old Testament directive “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the essence of care. Secular dispositions would call it the “golden rule,” and the idea dates to at least the early Confucian times. Indeed this rule can be found in almost every ethical tradition, as well as all the major religions in the world. Unfortunately, as the vernacular adaptation goes, those with the gold make the rules—but they do not always abide by them. As such this exhibition is concerned with radical praxis, with care as a countermeasure and agent for social change.
Unfolding in a sequence of discrete acts, this exhibition is a modest survey of past and contemporary artistic mobilizations of care in various forms. That care should be considered a radical act is somehow taken for granted in the global moment we are currently embroiled in—because the planet has seen better days. But care is not a benign position or immaculate state of being, free of inequities and opportunistic manipulation. As the anthropologist Shannon Mattern has written, we are never far from three endearing truths when considering the scales and dimensions of care: “1. maintainers require care; 2. caregiving requires maintenance; 3. the distinctions between these practices are shaped by race, gender, class and other political, economic, and cultural forces.” The artists assembled here as part of this exhibition make it their passionate business to interrogate the contours of these distinctions.
“Power,” a poem by Audre Lorde, opens with the following lines: “The difference between poetry and rhetoric / is being ready to kill / yourself / instead of your children.” This is certainly a distinction with resonance in this calamitous twenty-first century. Here is another poetic proposition with timeless relevance, from Folio 31a of the Babylonian Talmud: “That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is commentary. Go study.” Because the aspiration to knowledge and understanding of your fellow human beings is the most radical act of all. —Greg de Cuir Jr.
Exhibition acknowledgments: Radical Acts of Care (online version) is curated by Greg de Cuir Jr., and co-organized and designed by Oona Mosna. The concept was inspired by the legacy of Dr. Charles H. Wright, practicing physician (1943–1986), and founder of The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and Culture in Detroit. Radical Acts of Care is made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Knight Arts Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and with support from local donors and supporters. I Am Somebody by Madeline Anderson provided by Icarus Films with special thanks to Livia Bloom Ingram. The digital version of The House Is Black by Forough Farrokhzad is restored by Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna and Ecran Noir productions. North American screening rights for the film provided by Janus Films / The Criterion Collection with extra special thanks to Brian Belovarac. Custom frame enlargements of The House Is Black provided by the Austrian Film Museum with assistance from Christoph Etzlsdorfer and Marcus Eberhardt. Thanks also to Jurij Meden of the Austrian Film Museum. Thank you to Tobias Hering and Carsten Spicher from Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen, Patrick Friel (Chicago), and the film and media art staff at the Block Museum for source recommendations. Special thanks to Aryan Kaganof of herri (South Africa). Untitled (M*A*S*H) by Simone Leigh courtesy of the artist. Special thanks to Emily Knapp and Rebecca Adib of Studio Simone Leigh, and Sophie Treharne Nurse of Hauser & Wirth for providing materials. Website programming and technical poetries by Eric Brockman of Space and Subject Creative. Technical assistance for moving image materials provided by Brandon Walley and Podcast technician and producer: Mike McGonigal of Maggot Brain Magazine. Special thank you to James King, Senior Technical Manager, TIFF Bell LightBox and Toronto International Film Festival, along with Eric Rosset and staff at CineSend. Rights, permissions for stills, artworks, portraits, and poems are identified throughout this multi-gallery show. If not otherwise acknowledged, all additional materials courtesy of participating artists. We thank them for their contributions.
This show is dedicated to Konstantin Antony. May he grow to be curious, and sensitive, and radical, a reader, and anti-war, and adventurous, and kind.