Joan Jonas Presents 'They Come to Us without a Word II' at The Kitchen

At nearly 81, Joan Jonas continues her prolific output with a new performance, 'They Come to Us without a Word II', at The Kitchen in New York. The work expands on her 2015 installation for the U.S. Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale, which compiled fifty years of her practice and focused on animal imagery and transmission. In the new performance, Jonas collaborates with pianist Jason Moran and a community of children dressed in white, who become moving screens. The stage features a sophisticated system of veils and screens, with live and recorded projections. Jonas manipulates photographs, drawings, and postcards from her table, while footage of her Cape Breton refuge appears. The performance incorporates texts by Halldór Laxness and John Berger, and explores the interplay of conceptual art and shamanism. 'They Come to Us without a Word II' was the final installment of The Kitchen's program 'From Minimalism into Algorithm', which examined the legacy of American minimalism. Jonas's approach stands out for allowing her work to transcend and disseminate beyond herself.