Clifford Owens: Anthology

Clifford Owens (born 1971) has long been aware that the history of African-American performance art remains largely unwritten. Rather than rectifying the oversight in scholarly terms, Owens has created an unprecedented artistic project, a compendium of African-American performance art that is both highly personal and thoroughly historical. This volume, Owens’ first publication, includes written performance scores that Owens solicited from fellow African-American artists, which he then enacted in various locations at MoMA PS1. Clifford Owens: Anthology brings together the final artworks that resulted from the performances, and features essays by art historians Huey Copeland and John Bowles, as well as MoMA PS1 assistant curator Christopher Y. Lew. It also includes interviews with individuals who attended the live performances and a round-table discussion with selected Anthology artists moderated by art historian Kellie Jones.

Clifford Owens (born 1971) has long been aware that the history of African-American performance art remains largely unwritten. Rather than rectifying the oversight in scholarly terms, Owens has created an unprecedented artistic project, a compendium of African-American performance art that is both highly personal and thoroughly historical. This volume, Owens’ first publication, includes written performance scores that Owens solicited from fellow African-American artists, which he then enacted in various locations at MoMA PS1. Clifford Owens: Anthology brings together the final artworks that resulted from the performances, and features essays by art historians Huey Copeland and John Bowles, as well as MoMA PS1 assistant curator Christopher Y. Lew. It also includes interviews with individuals who attended the live performances and a round-table discussion with selected Anthology artists moderated by art historian Kellie Jones.