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Edgar Arceneaux's 'Until, Until, Until...' at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects Examines Blackface and Media Power

exhibition · 2026-04-20

Edgar Arceneaux's exhibition, 'Until, Until, Until...', was held at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects from 27 May to 1 July. The show features a stage-like setup complemented by video projections. Its title references a 2015 performance in which a man sings 'Waiting for the Robert E. Lee,' alluding to the removal of Confederate monuments. The projections shift between live and historical audiences, enhanced by abstract lighting. Arceneaux delves into the RGB matrix of television, particularly examining Ben Vereen's 1981 blackface act during a Reagan inauguration. Shadow boxes exhibit mirrored prints of headlines from the 1967 Detroit riots, prompting questions of coherence. Frank Lawson embodies Vereen, presenting a powerful scene. The exhibition offers an immersive experience alongside thoughtfully crafted objects, inviting selective interaction.

Key facts

  • Edgar Arceneaux's exhibition 'Until, Until, Until...' was held at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects from 27 May to 1 July
  • The show includes a 2015 performance video with a man singing 'Waiting for the Robert E. Lee' from 1912
  • Projections feature both a live gallery audience and a televised audience from an earlier era
  • Arceneaux discussed the RGB matrix of television screens and the power dynamics in broadcast image distribution
  • The video focuses on Ben Vereen's 1981 blackface performance at a Ronald Reagan inaugural event, a tribute to Bert Williams
  • Johnny Carson introduced the 1981 program, stating black performers used blackface to appear in 'a white man's show'
  • Vereen's performance had two parts, with the second critical part cut from broadcast, leading to his ostracism
  • Shadow boxes show mirrored prints of 1967 Detroit riot headlines over mountain landscapes, and other works include treatises encased in sugar crystals

Entities

Artists

  • Edgar Arceneaux
  • Ben Vereen
  • Bert Williams
  • Frank Lawson
  • Johnny Carson
  • Neil Postman
  • Ronald Reagan

Institutions

  • Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects
  • ArtReview

Locations

  • Los Angeles
  • United States
  • American South
  • Detroit

Sources