If You Go
Jayson Musson: His History of Art
Friday, April 5
7 p.m. – Opening Reception –Free
8 p.m. – Artist Talk – Free for Members, $10 for Non-Member
9 p.m. – Afterparty at Alice OTR – No Cover for CAC Members
The reception will feature a cash bar, light bites, and more! Register now!
It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, as Jayson Musson: His History of Art opens Friday at the Contemporary Arts Center.
The exhibition, which premiered in the Fall at the Fabric Workshop and Museum (FWM) in Philadelphia centers around a new three-channel video series written, starred, and co-directed by Musson, who describes it as “a sitcom orbiting art history and all the fun to be had dancing on the minefield of the past.”
“Jayson’s wildly creative, multilayered, and often playful approach to the critique of art history comes at a time when the role of institutions and broader authorities of art and history are being reexamined,” says Christina Vassallo, the Alice & Harris Weston director of the CAC and the former executive director of FWM. “From costume making, puppetry, and sculpture to a fully-fledged film set, Jayson has built a fictional world that jumps off the pages of his scripts.”
Taking inspiration from the structure and tone of educational programs such as PBS children’s shows and nun-turned-art critic Sister Wendy Beckett, Musson conducts a satirical survey on art history, its relationship to the general public, and the ways in which popular art historical images impact our cultural consciousness.
In the sitcom-style video series, Musson—performing as “Jay”— endeavors to educate his skeptical puppet sidekick Ollie on the relevance of art. Jay and Ollie journey across a three-episode arc from prehistoric art through the present, encountering figures as varied as Pablo Picasso and a larger-than-life Venus of Willendorf along the way.
“Good humor always moves toward truth,” Musson explains. “This exposure of truth is what causes a joke to resonate with a listener and connect with their often-unspoken experiences and feelings. Jokes uncover, jokes expose, jokes bring into the light things which are oft-buried by individuals and a society. Comedy’s propensity to dig up skeletons and parade them in front of an audience with little regard for consequence or moral constraint is one of the main reasons it has been a useful tool in exposing inequality and grand social failings.”
After viewing the episodes on a large screen installed on the CAC’s fourth floor, visitors will encounter Jay’s living room set featuring his art collection—props from the production that play upon art historical icons—and the Ollie puppet. The experience culminates in a process lab that reveals to visitors how the production came together through the display of script material, set designs, props, and costumes. The exhibition will also be the first for the CAC’s partnership with Bloomberg Connects, a free app that hosts content for over 350 cultural institutions around the world. App users will have access to additional content related to the artistic process, and tools for greater accessibility, such as translation and ASL videos.