Photo of collection object Personal
Jemison, Steffani. Personal, 2014. Digital video projection, color, sound, TRT, 6 minutes 45 seconds , Alfred T. White Fund, 2015.8. ©Steffani Jemison © artist or artist's estate.

Personal

2014

Steffani Jemison

American, born 1981

Contemporary Art

In Steffani Jemison’s Personal, three black men— professional actors based in Brooklyn who responded to an ad Jemison placed—move improvisationally through various locations in Bed-Stuy. Shot against an unfinished mural, in a public park, and on a playing field, the actors walk forward, backward, and in slow circles, with the world around them largely unaffected by their movement.

Jemison moves between letting the footage play naturally and reversing it, making it unclear if the action is unfolding in real time or not. Techniques of repetition and reversal confuse time, space, and sequence. These strategies provoke viewers to consider the impact of inherited narratives and question notions of linear progress, particularly in relation to black Americans.
Maker/Artist
Jemison, Steffani
Classification
Media Art
Formatted Medium
Digital video projection, color, sound, TRT, 6 minutes 45 seconds
Departments
Contemporary Art
Accession Number
2015.8
Credit Line
Alfred T. White Fund
Rights Statement
© artist or artist's estate
Dominant Colors

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