Asco Image from CSRC Collections in Catalog Essay

The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago has published a catalog to complement the group exhibition Black Is, Black Ain't, which was on view at the Society in 2008. The catalog includes the essay "Babel Screened: On Race, Narcissism, and the Predication of American Video Art" by Huey Copeland, assistant professor of art history at Northwestern University. The photograph "Decoy Gang War Victim" from a 1974 Asco performance is one of the essay's illustrations. The photograph, taken by Asco member Harry Gamboa, is in CSRC collections.

On December 8, 2013, a symposium was held in conjunction with the release of the catalog and featured panelists Thelma Golden, director and chief curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem; Kellie Jones, associate professor in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University; Bennett Simpson, curator at Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles; and Hamza Walker, associate curator and director of education at the Renaissance Society and curator of the exhibition. Professor Copeland served as panelist and moderator.

For more information about the catalog and to view a video of the symposium, click here.