Recitation
March 11 - March 12, 2021
duration: 13 hours
location: Lower Gallery, Visual Culture, Arts and Media, Haverford College
materials: one thousand pounds of soil, 19 pieces of well-travelled luggage, a couch, plastic, grapefruits, shovel, letters and audio recordings
sound: Derek Phillips
letters and audio recordings contributed by: Aino Koski, Alessandra Carosi, Amina Handke, Amy Funk, Beatriz Escobar, Cara Liuzzi, Christina Zwarg, Elena Azzedin, Erin Shovenfeld, Hura Mirshekari, Jane Hilberry, John Muse, Kai Simon-Stoeger, Kris Truax, Leo Mena, Lexi Johnson, Mari Luz de las Heras, Mark Inchoco, Matthew Farmer, Mehdi Yarmohammadi, Richard Hancock, Roma Smith, Sandra Mukasa, Zelda Love
Recitation is a cacophony of grief created from a prompt:
Write a letter to someone in your life that has passed away.
Since 2019, an international array of artists, nurses, teachers, strangers, and intimates, took up Truax’s prompt to write a letter to the dead. Several creative prompts followed, until each letter was translated over time into sound, movement, statement, space, rhythm, and surprise.
Now, set amidst a global pandemic, Recitation is layered with images, objects, audio recordings and materials siphoned from years of letters, conversations, and creative exchanges. Occurring over 13-hours, the durational performance invites a suspended moment (of discord) as Truax attunes to recitations on how to grieve.
performance photos by John Muse & Bilge Nur Yilmaz, ephemera photos by Raegan Truax
While lighting settings on the livestream camera were adjusted for visibility, the above image more accurately reflects the darkness the live audience entered into during the durational performance (still from live video footage taken by Vicky Funari).
RAEGAN TRUAX
with MARILYN ARSEM, ANGELA HENNESSY, and DEREK PHILLIPS
Talkback Event following Truax's 13-hour durational performance, Recitation. Hosted by the Hurford ‘60 Center for the Arts and Humanities and VCAM
