Upcoming Exhibition

A Censored Review

Artist: Angelica Aranda
Dates: October 2 - November 2
Reception: October 2, 3 P.M. - 5 P.M.

• Exhibition Statement:

  Crosses hanging on the necks of perverse politicians. Book bannings in the midst of a slipping democracy. Prayers chanted in cages from the mouths of separated mothers. The future of America is bleak.
  
  The collection of artwork presented in A Censored Review dissent from the current state of American politics and its exacerbation of censorship in educational spaces like this one. Aranda’s status as an independent publisher and librarian firmly ground her position against censorship in all forms.
  
  The title A Censored Review is drawn from the title of a 1963 one-off mimeographic publication titled “The Censored Review,” including work by Ted Barrington and David Bearden. The publication was produced in an edition of 1000 as a response to student work being dropped from The Columbia Review for use of obscene language after being initially accepted. The title felt appropriate for the contents of the exhibition and the context of its installation.
  
  On the first wall, you will find a selection of Aranda’s zines. Aranda encourages viewers to interact with these zines - fold them, unfold them, pick them up, flip through the pages. Above the spread, are the original illustrations and collages created for the posters inside.
  
  Hanging down the wall is a scarf tied into a noose that reads “Do Not Resuscitate.” This work nods to Aranda’s exploration of her struggles with mental illness and the intensification amid political turbulence in a gendered context. Other pieces in the exhibition continue this dialogue through themes of death, lack of control, and discomforting imagery such as in “Worn” and “A Book of Letters in Revelation.”
  
  The center piece of the exhibition can be found on the right wall in the form of a hanging quilt. “An American Quilt” is based on the statements made by press secretary Karoline Leavitt in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network. The accompanying video can be found on the screen adjacent to the quilt. The quilt is made in the classical American style using applique techniques for the lettering, stars, and inverted crosses. On the back of the quilt are traces of the hand quilting in Aranda’s bloodstains. Aranda uses the inverted cross motif as commentary on the use of Christian imagery as virtue signaling by political actors.
  
  A Censored Review utilizes what might be considered to be largely unpleasant imagery and themes to challenge the boundaries of censorship in the modern world. Thank you in advance for taking time to engage with the work and question as a result of its viewership.