Notes on Empty Chairs (part 3)
Notes on Empty Chairs (part 3), Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2015
Taking place over three Tuesday evenings at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago Notes on Empty Chairs is a series of three one hour performances by Chicago-based artist Kirsten Leenaars, with assistance of Lindsey Barlag-Thornton, that explore themes of empathy, loss, and remembrance in response to the exhibition Doris Salcedo. The performances are cumulative and -collaboratively developed with local community groups. The performances will take place on March 24, April 14 and May 19, 2015, 6-7 pm.
The third performance, Notes on Empty Chairs (part 3), responds to Cathy Park Hong’s recent essay “Against Witness”. This essay about Salcedo’s work was commissioned on the occasion of the Doris Salcedo exhibition and published in the May 2015 issue of Poetry. Through a poetic performance involving spoken word derived from original transcripts of eye witness accounts of the shooting of Michael Brown, sound and choreographed movement, Notes on Empty Chairs (part 3) explores the act of witnessing today in light of such recent events in America as the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray.
The performers for Notes on Empty Chairs (part 3) include: Marvin Tate, Matthew Robinson, Regin Iglora, Kim Chayeb, Monica Brown, Wa Chontong, Toni Zhao, Opel Smittinet, Valentina Vella, Alison Auwerda. Kekeli Kodzo Sumah, Jose Perez. Drummer: Dan Bitney
Camera: Paul Deuth
Video documentation of Notes on Empty Chairs (part 3), Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2015
