Jenny Holzer Unveils Massive Outdoor Installation at the Rockefeller Center
Text-based artwork that comes to the aid of writers and journalists in the midst of rising censorship around the world.
Jenny Holzer has worked with PEN America to unveil a massive series of art installations at the Rockefeller Center in New York City.
The light projection, titled SPEECH ITSELF, 2022, seeks to uphold freedom of expression in the midst of rising attacks on writers, journalists and everyday citizens around the world. The conceptual artist has included text from more than 60 authors, including Ayad Akhtar, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Margaret Atwood, Ron Chernow, Henry Louis Gates Jr., J.K. Rowling, Joy Harjo, Jhumpa Lahiri, Yoon Ha Lee, Toni Morrison, Alejandro Zambra, and Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot.
“PEN America’s extraordinary commitment to the written and spoken word, and to standing for open expression worldwide, inspires,” said Holzer in a statement, adding, “PEN’s work to protect ‘some rawness’ – to borrow from Colm Tóibín – supports the purpose of language in public spaces. I am delighted and honored to collaborate with PEN on an installation that lights its significant century-long dedication to the freedoms to think, to write, and to speak.”
Julie Trébault, the director of PEN America’s Artists at Risk Connection program, added that this installation really meets the moment “to defend against the peril and threats to our basic freedoms, which are really fundamental rights to communicate without fear, to write and read as we choose.”
The artwork first appeared on September 14 and will run until 10pm EST on Sunday, September 18.
Also in the news, Robert Pattinson is the latest guest curator for Sotheby’s “Contemporary Curated” sale.
