Once Again: Mourning and Militancy
In the time of endless ambulance sirens…
No, let me start again.
In the time of Covid, and fascist thugs, and unjust killings, one comes upon a new monument. Not made of bronze or stone, but tacked together from styrofoam, bandages, wire, and papier-mache.
The life-size sculpture was Pestsaule by artist and activist Gregg Bordowitz. Inspired by the old “plague columns” of Central Europe, this new work marks our contemporary crisis, amidst a pandemic and reckless police shootings. How do we acknowledge loss & suffering, and simultaneously work for change?
Bordowitz was inspired by a 17th Century pillar erected in Vienna by the Hapsburg Emperor Leopold as a symbol of gratitude for salvation from the bubonic plague.
One feature of that monument is a depiction of Leopold kneeling in prayer: supposedly God ended the epidemic in direct response to his devout plea. (Or so the emperor wanted his people to believe.)
Rather than depending on a pious emperor, Bordowitz indicates that we are responsible for our own solutions; he has decades of experience as an ACT UP campaigner, and is a supporter of Black Lives Matter. His new monument emphasizes militant solidarity during our own stressful times.
Back in 1989, Bordowitz’s good friend Douglas Crimp wrote an influential essay, Mourning and Militancy, where he stressed the importance for AIDS activists to experience both their personal grief and their political anger. He believed ACT UP protesters needed the balance of both emotions to remain fully human during an era of plague and government indifference. Political rage, yes, but grounded by a grieving heart.
And now, in our new era of disease and unrest… One comes upon this striking monument created in the wake of Covid and racist killings.
One wishes to have courage, to be dedicated to service. (Be honest: I wish that I was much braver than I am…) A masked hero, protesting in the midst of violence and plague.
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NOTES:
The artwork's full title is Pestsäule (after Erwin Thorn) and is copyright 2021 Gregg Bordowitz.
The sculpture is on display until October 11 2021 at MoMA PS1 as part of the Bordowitz retrospective exhibit I Wanna Be Well. Details here: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5207
A short video of Bordowitz crafting the sculpture and describing its origins is here:
4. The Douglas Crimp essay Mourning and Militancy, dedicated to Bordowitz, can be viewed here: https://www.academia.edu/5756612/Mourning_and_Militancy