Curated by Mass MoCA Senior Curator and Managing Director of Exhibitions,
Denise Markonish,

"Suffering From Realness" explores the politics of representation — and the ways in which artists use the body to grasp at and re-center the “aura of realness” in an age of uncertainty. The title for the exhibition is borrowed from the song “Ni**as in Paris” by Jay-Z and Kanye West in which West raps: “Doctors say I’m the illest / ‘Cause I’m suffering from realness.” This prophetic lyric ended up signaling the musician’s spiraling ego, over-the-top public behavior, and mental health issues. But the phrase also begs the question, “What exactly is realness?” In her most political group exhibition to date, curator Denise Markonish explores the fluidity of identity and the media rituals performed to tell the narrative of “realness.”

The artists whose work comprise "Suffering From Realness" examine the human condition from all sides, creating works in various media that are both personal and universal, addressing racism, violence, gender equality, the politicized body of wartime, the anxious body, the complexity of responsibility, and the future. Ultimately, the exhibition endeavors to provide a sliver of optimism, to show how tenderness and collective action can lead to a new form of realness, one tied less to uncertainty and more to liberation. No longer bound, we can “resist or move on, be mad, be rash, smoke, and explode” (Morrissey, Hold On to Your Friends), and ultimately, find hope in something lasting and real.

Featuring: Aziz+Cucher, Cassils, Adriana Corral, Joey Fauerso, Jeffrey Gibson, Hayv Kahraman, Jennifer Karady, Titus Kaphar, Robert Longo, Christopher Mir, MPA, Wangechi Mutu, Allison Schulnik, Keith Sklar, Robert Taplin, and Vincent Valdez

Strange
August 21, 2019–January 19, 2020

It has been a century since the Surrealist movement exploded across the global cultural scene. Surrealism championed the creative power of the unconscious and the value of irrational thoughts and imagery. It was a movement with enormous impact in the visual arts, film, performing arts, and literature; yet the spirit of Surrealism preceded the movement itself, and extraordinary antecedents can be found across many centuries and in cultures around the world. While the Surrealists sought out feelings of strangeness—of the improbable, uncanny, mysterious, and miraculous—the strange has always been a source of artistic inspiration, and continues to fascinate us today.

Strange features diverse works from BAMPFA’s collection that invoke strangeness and resonate with the spirit of Surrealism. The exhibition goes well beyond the strictly historical bounds of the Surrealist movement itself to explore art from many cultures and time periods. Among the themes it touches on are dreams and visions, wonders and miracles, myth and magic, and life and death. Strange includes works from Asia, Europe, and the Americas made over the past five hundred years. Among the artists represented are Diane Arbus, William Blake, Louise Bourgeois, Bruce Conner, Sylvia Fein, Francisco Goya, Nancy Grossman, Robert Gutierrez, Ynez Johnston, René Magritte, Maruyama Okyo, Ariel Parkinson, Maija Peeples-Bright, Iris Polos, Achilles Rizzoli, Cindy Sherman, Jack Smith, and Ruth Wall

Garret, Rose. “Say Goodbye to Franklin Street’s Learning Wall Mural.” Hoodline.com November 05, 2014