ARTHUR JAFA: LOVE IS THE MESSAGE, AND THE MESSAGE IS DEATH
Bringing art to nontraditional spaces and places in Detroit, Arthur Jafa’s presentation in a building off of Bellevue located near MLK High School seeks to unite and examine what it means to live in America in 2017. Love is the Message, the Message is Death is curated by Elysia Borowy-Reeder, Executive Director and organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
PAST EXHIBITIONS
ARTHUR JAFA:
LOVE IS THE MESSAGE, AND THE MESSAGE IS DEATH
SEPTEMBER 21 – OCTOBER 23, 2017
Bringing art to nontraditional spaces and places in Detroit, Arthur Jafa’s presentation in a building off of Bellevue located near MLK High School seeks to unite and examine what it means to live in America in 2017. Mississippi born Jafa edits scenes of black leaders, musicians, singers, dancers and athletes — the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, LeBron James — as well as church soloists and choirs, alternate with video of acts of police harassment and brutality against black men, women and children, including a fatal shooting. The video is set to Kanye West’s rap-gospel, “Ultralight Beam.” A robust schedule of public programs will accompany and be lead by the artist and Greg Tate. New York Times critic Roberta Smith says “Anyone within striking distance of Manhattan should see Arthur Jafa’s searing video Love Is the Message. It is almost unbearably pertinent to our current racial divide.”
Love is the Message, the Message is Death is curated by Elysia Borowy-Reeder, Executive Director and organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.
