Rest Not Radicalism: New York Shows Favor Comfort Over Confrontation

Jenny Wu critiques a trend in recent New York exhibitions where comfort and tranquility replace political confrontation. She describes two installations encountered in early October: at Micki Meng gallery, a made bed with Maggie Lee's sleep talking audio, and at island gallery, Hồng-Ân Trương's sound installation with futons and mosquito nets playing archival recordings from Bay Area anti-colonial movements and recent pro-Palestinian protests. Wu contrasts these restful spaces with the urgent sounds they contain. Later, at the Vera List Center for Art and Politics' 'Re-visioning Native Histories' forum, artists Kent Monkman and Nathan Young presented their work. Monkman discussed his alter ego Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, critiquing George Catlin's portrayals, but Wu found his direct address slippery and the format too comfortable. Young played his sound installation nkwiluntàmën, on view at Pennsbury Manor, which evokes Indigenous culture displaced by colonization. Wu recalls earlier Vera List Center seminars during the pandemic, where panelists engaged in candid, halting discussions, contrasting with the current polished, non-confrontational events.