Chère Melpomène
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May 28
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Chère Melpomène is a call to subvert classical myths in order to convey other stories that are closer to our daily lives. The exhibition invites us to listen, feel, and breathe together in a poetic exploration of what binds us.
Drawing inspiration from the methodology of artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951–1982) in her work Dictée (1982) - where the nine muses of Greco-Roman antiquity are reimagined to honor female martyrs who sought emancipation - the exhibition sublimates reality by rerouting the figure of Melpomène. What relationships should we cultivate among the inhabitants of the earth - beyond species, and between animate and inanimate beings? Theresa Hak Kyung Cha invites us to prioritize our senses, intuition, and pay attention to our surroundings in order to reconnect with the multiple breaths of life and reignite our commoning energy. The exhibition invites us to navigate our intimate tragedies and the stories we can tell about them. It offers an incantation to summon spiritual and political alliances, to infuse our struggles with magic, expand our imagination, and nurture hope. The pieces in this exhibition embody acts of resistance and solidarity, sharing speculative cosmogonies that translate the plurality of memories that shape our contemporary society and cultivate our interdependence while honoring our individual differences.
Chère Melpomène intertwines a hundred works from the collections, students and international artists, presenting a transhistorical display from the late 17th century to today. Most have never been exhibited—recently acquired by the School or newly created for the exhibition—while others have yet to circulate in institutional spaces.
Drawing inspiration from the methodology of artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha (1951–1982) in her work Dictée (1982) - where the nine muses of Greco-Roman antiquity are reimagined to honor female martyrs who sought emancipation - the exhibition sublimates reality by rerouting the figure of Melpomène. What relationships should we cultivate among the inhabitants of the earth - beyond species, and between animate and inanimate beings? Theresa Hak Kyung Cha invites us to prioritize our senses, intuition, and pay attention to our surroundings in order to reconnect with the multiple breaths of life and reignite our commoning energy. The exhibition invites us to navigate our intimate tragedies and the stories we can tell about them. It offers an incantation to summon spiritual and political alliances, to infuse our struggles with magic, expand our imagination, and nurture hope. The pieces in this exhibition embody acts of resistance and solidarity, sharing speculative cosmogonies that translate the plurality of memories that shape our contemporary society and cultivate our interdependence while honoring our individual differences.
Chère Melpomène intertwines a hundred works from the collections, students and international artists, presenting a transhistorical display from the late 17th century to today. Most have never been exhibited—recently acquired by the School or newly created for the exhibition—while others have yet to circulate in institutional spaces.