Installation, Re:Generation Tulsa 1921-2021

Some photos from my installation on the Paradise Baptist Church for the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. You can see visitors pointing out the burned out shell of the original Paradise Baptist Church, which is one of only three churches remaining in the Greenwood Section of Tulsa.

RE-GENERATION Tulsa 1921-2021

For the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre I’m installing four large panoramic photo murals taken in 1921 onto the exterior walls of Paradise Baptist Church in the Greenwood section of Tulsa. The church was burned down in 1921 and appears in two of the panoramas.

The opening will be on Sunday May 30th and be up until June 30th. Paradise Baptist Church is located at 507 E King St, Greenwood, Tulsa 74106.

Installation view, Paradise Baptist Church in a 1921 panoramic photograph taken after the Tulsa Race Massacre
1921 view of Paradise Baptist Church (full panoramic image, one of four in the installation)
2021 view of Paradise Baptist Church, taken from a drone flying over Sunset Hill

The Wall of Lies

Photographs of the “Wall of Lies,” a 110-foot long, 10-foot tall outdoor mural with the 20,000+ lies told by Donald Trump while in office as documented and fact-checked by The Washington Post. It was first installed in Bushwick Brooklyn and then in SoHo Manhattan in the month prior to the 2020 Presidential Election.

Artnet Editor’s Pick

“Mallrat to Snapchat” is an artnet pick !

sam+goodyMallrat to Snapchat: The End of the Third Place” at Front Room Gallery

If you don’t feel like lining up outside a mall as soon as you’ve digested your Thanksgiving turkey, the Lower East Side-based Front Room Gallery has a very different experience for your Black Friday. Artist Phillip Buehler has been photographing some of the nation’s most deserted and decrepit sites for decades, and in his new series he’s exploring the demise of the commercial shopping mall. The timing feels especially poignant as centers like Hudson Yards and New Jersey’s forthcoming Dream Mall are cropping up.

Location: Front Room Gallery, 48 Hester Street

Price: Free
Time: Opening reception, 7 p.m.–9 p.m.; Thursday–Sunday, noon–6 .p.m.

—Caroline Goldstein

“American Trilogy” at Spring/Break Art Show

installation view 2

Installation view of the exterior of “American Trilogy” at the Spring/Break Art Show

For the first time I showed more than one of my walk-in panoramas under the title, “American Trilogy.” It was curated by Larry Walczak. The show was held on the 22nd floor of #4 Times Square during Armory Art Week.

“American Trilogy: Ferguson” places viewers on the spot where Michael Brown was killed by police. I remembered the rioters, tear gas, military assault vehicles and rooftop snipers from the nightly news, but when I was there it was a quiet neighborhood, and on the line where he fell was a makeshift memorial of hundreds of stuffed animals, flowers and notes. The panorama was part of a Black Lives Matter event in Times Square in 2015 as well as installed in a Brooklyn public high school for Black History Month.

“American Trilogy: Arlington” places viewers in front of Muslim soldier Humanyun Saqib Khan’s headstone. His Gold Star parents spot at the Democratic National Convention and were mocked by then-candidate Donald Trump. On Khan’s headstone is the Muslim Star and Crescent and surrounding headstones have Jewish, Christian, Mormon and Buddhist symbols. The panorama was originally installed in Erie Pennsylvania, a red part of a swing state, the week before the Presidential election.

“American Trilogy: Washington” places viewers in front of the White House during the Women’s March on Washington, where they are surrounded by protest signs and a sea of pink pussy hats. It debuted at Spring/Break.

interior

Interior of “American Trilogy: Washington” and two women viewing.

Detail of "American Trilogy: Washington, 2017"

Detail of “American Trilogy: Washington, 2017”

Happily, the exhibit received a lot of press. My favorite quotes were:

“He really seems to be on to something here–standing there looking out at the makeshift memorial for Brown, a black teenager who was unarmed when he was shot and killed by a white police officer, was really moving.” Nicole Disser, Bedford & Bowery

“We are living in unprecedented times. Sometimes, it helps to travel outside frames that are most familiar to us, the narratives we are spoonfed. Step into the panoramas of ‘American Trilogy’ and you just might walk out with a different perspective about a person, place, or cause you thought you knew all about.” Daniel Kessel, Bushwick Daily

“They are technical tours de force, but more importantly they are eloquent reminders of the obstacles facing contemporary America.” Robert Ayers, Ocula

Ferguson Panorama in Times Square

On October 22 as part of Rise Up October, an event was held in Times Square called, “Say Their Names,” where the names of 100 people killed by police were read by their families. I installed my walk-in photograph of Ferguson, where Mike Brown was shot and killed. It was quite moving to talk to some of the families and hear what they had to say.

Times Square

Panorama installed in Times Square

Inside

Inside Ferguson

Protest at Washington Square Park that week.

Protest at Washington Square Park that was also part of Rise Up October