How to See Black Space in Total Whiteness taisha paggett’s underwaters (we is ready, we is ready) and the 2014 Whitney Biennial Jaime Shearn Coan

Prologue The stakes are high for the 2017 Whitney Biennial, the first to occur in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s new downtown location. The 2017 Biennial, delayed by a year to accommo- date the move, was intended to reflect the shifting sociopolitical terrain of the country at “a time rife with racial tensions, economic inequities, and polarizing politics” (Whitney 2017a). One painting, Dana Schutz’s Open Casket (2016), which portrays an abstracted Emmett Till in his coffin, quickly emerged as a flashpoint for criticism whenARTnews published an open let- ter to The Whitney from the artist and critic Hannah Black, who called for the removal and destruction of the painting (in Greenberger 2017). Debates on social media and web-based media outlets questioned the ethics of a white artist representing Black pain and historical trauma, as well as the dangers of censorship. Coco Fusco sharply reprimanded Black and others

TDR: The Drama Review 61:3 (T235) Fall 2017. ©2017 72 New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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a quarter of a century” (Whitney 2017c). a quarter of a century” — . The Whitney Museum of American Art, American of Museum Whitney The . ready) is we underwatersready, is (we

tape of Rodney King being beaten by the LAPD. The artist Lorraine O’Grady spoke of The artist being beaten by the LAPD. tape of Rodney King the speed with which critiques of institutional decisions come and go. This does not sup- decisions come and go. the speed with which critiques of institutional

— At the close of the Whitney panel, the artist Lyle Ashton Harris asked for the mic and Ashton Harris asked for artist Lyle the Whitney panel, At the close of the Strangely, there was no mention at the Whitney event of the 2014 Biennial, which included the 2014 Biennial, Whitney event of no mention at the there was Strangely, In response to the public outcry and demand for action, the Whitney, in collaboration with in collaboration Whitney, the and demand for action, to the public outcry In response Jaime Shearn Coan is a writer and a PhD candidate in English at The Graduate Center, CUNY, CUNY, Center, Graduate at The candidate in English is a writer and a PhD Coan Shearn Jaime He Humanities, CUNY. Center for the at The Fellow Digital Publics and a 2017–2018 Mellon and is a coeditor of the Danspace Fellow, Curatorial served Project as the 2015–2016 Danspace . Now HIV/AIDS, Then and York, New Dance, Lost and Found: Platform 2016 Catalogue, Project Drain Correspondence, Critical Looks (XL): Finale, critical writing can be found in Recent Twenty of feminist theory. a journal & Performance: Women Jacket2, and Rail, Brooklyn The Magazine, The 2014 Whitney Biennial, which opened on 7 March, emerged as perhaps one of the most emerged as perhaps on 7 March, which opened Whitney Biennial, The 2014 in “rupture of decorum,” Coco Fusco termed a infamous examples of what artist and critic “artists are forcing the politically and racially antagonistic dimensions of relations which For this Biennial (Fusco 2014). and the public into the open” labor, between the museum artists, came from each of whom each of its three floors, the museum selected a different curator for NYC), MoMA, of media and performance art, other institutions: Stuart Comer (chief curator and Michelle Philadelphia), Art, Institute of Contemporary Anthony Elms (associate curator, Art Institute School of the Department of Painting and Drawing, Grabner (artist and professor, How to See White Space to See How [email protected] 2014. (Photo by Ashley Hunt) by (Photo 2014. Figure 1. taisha paggett, taisha 1. Figure stood up to reject what appeared to be a conciliatory gesture by Claudia Rankine on behalf of stood up to reject what appeared to be a Black art- (Whitney 2017c). “I don’t want to have a kumbaya moment” saying, Whitney, the garner less public attention inevitably and trans artists, queer, and especially Black female, ists, of thought Mobilizing the 2014 Biennial as a nexus when whiteness is at the center of critique. to institu- it becomes clear that new relationships upon which to engage the present Biennial, It is up to us by the participating artists themselves. tional spaces are already being developed to follow. port the slow and unglamorous work of building racial equity in powerful cultural institutions. racial equity in powerful cultural institutions. port the slow and unglamorous work of building in its program Donelle Woolford, a Black female artist, who in fact was an avatar created by the who a Black female artist, Woolford, in its program Donelle critics of Scanlan’s proj- Coco Fusco was one of the most articulate white artist Joe Scanlan. recent piece. and yet she does not mention the last Biennial once in her most ect (Fusco 2014), but rather to attend to the unresolved (It is not my intention to equate the circumstances, that disturbs both of the public and of institutions, problems.) It is the short cultural memory, me Perspectives on Race and Representation: An Evening with the Evening An on Race and Representation: organized Perspectives Claudia Rankine, the writer strove to Some of the presentations 2017 (Whitney 2017b). April Institute on 9 Racial Imaginary con- the particular circumstances including , Open Casket situate the debate around historically disfigured by the hands of white decision to show the world her son, Till’s tributing to Mamie curated at Male show, 1994 Black references were made to the addition, In supremacist men. It is certainly useful to look as well as to the 1993 Biennial. Golden, Thelma Whitney by the political and identity-based works, among many overtly which featured, back to the 1993 show, a video­ advancement of these issues “for its lack of material Whitney accountable the need to hold the for 25 years that it’s been facing now who called for Schutz to be censored, and provided a short history of the tradition of white cul- the tradition of white a short history of and provided for Schutz to be censored, who called (Fusco 2017). Black suffering making work representing tural producers Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

74 Jaime Shearn Coan included (Graves2014). ticipating artist, neitherthenamesofJoeScanlanoractorshiredtoperform Woolford were While Donelle Woolford waslistedonthe Whitney websiteaswellinthecatalogueapar routine from1977, Dick’s LastStand, atvariousoff-sitelocationsnationwide(Whitney2014b). JenniferKidwell)performedaRichardPryorstand-up showed twoworksinthegalleryand( Jennifer Kidwelland Abigail Ramsay, toperformas Woolford. Forthe2014Biennial, Woolford sor JoeScanlan. Sincethen, ScanlanhasvariouslyemployedfiveBlackfemaleactors, including Black femaleartistconceivedin2005bythewhitemaleandPrincetonUniversityprofes- terms, throughthedecisiononpartofGrabnertoincludeDonelle Woolford, thefictional Black femaleartists of Chicago). InthecaseofBiennial, theantagonismcoalescedaroundrepresentationof

the Biennial, asdetailedinthefollowingstatementsbycollectivemembers: drawal, describingitasastrategyofpublicresistanceagainstthewhitesupremaciststructure problem-artist, oronebadegg. to JoeScanlan’sDonelle Woolford project Black femaleartistprimarilyworkinginthefieldofdance, drewverylittlecriticalattention? amidst thesehighlyvisibledebatesaroundtheBiennial, taishapaggett, aninterdisciplinary an evenmorepalpableabsencehaspromptedthequestionthatdrivesthisessay: Why isitthat, less discussedweretheoff-sitescreeningsoffilmthat YAMS pulledfromtheBiennial.But tegic interventionsandnotonananalysisoftheirfilm, GoodStock ontheDimension. Floor Much media. However, thecriticaldiscoursesurrounding YAMS has largelybeenbasedontheirstra- weeks beforeitclosed. This controversybecamethesubjectofmuchartswritingandpopular sions andinstitutionalpracticeswasthewithdrawalof YAMS fromtheBienniallessthantwo in theBiennial. The eventthatgarneredmassivecriticalattentiontothesecuratorialdeci- via Shields, totheinclusionofHOWDOYOUSAYYAMINAFRICAN? collective(YAMS) 2. 1. drawal waspartoftheprotest. [...] a greatwaytoconsiderthisisthattheentireparticipationwas aprotest, andthewith- sion, thepoliticsofwhitesupremacythatmakeupinstitution ofthe Whitney. Ithink acist institutionisaprotestinitself. Ofcoursewewereaware ofthepoliticsexclu- even beforeitstarted CHRISTA BELL:Oneofthewaysthatwehavediscussedframingourparticipation expose howthedoorsareclosedformajority. and toexperiencefirsthandwhathappensintheartworld termsofwhitesupremacy, to not onlydothisproject, themovie, buttousethisopportunityinfiltrateaninstitution changing itswhitesupremacistattitudes. Soweformalizedourcollectiveandgroupto I waspissedoffaboutthehistoryof Whitney anditslackofanykindinitiativein ing tome Whitney Biennial, Ithoughtaboutitforawhileanddecidedwouldbemoreinterest- the workthatshesawwascollaborativeinnature. When sheaskedmetobeapartofthe SIENNA SHIELDS:MichelleGrabnercameandvisitedmystudiolastsummer. And Hyperallergic published on 14 May article (Heddeya 2014). ple, various have viewpoints been expressed. For instance, member Maureen Catbagen focuses on Scanlan in a In addition to this tendency in framing, there is also the factor that, as YAMS is made up of about 38 peo- Woolford” (Kidwell 2014). For Jennifer Kidwell’s account, see “Performance and Para-Fiction: Jennifer Kidwell on Playing Donelle Most mediacoverageinterpreted YAMS’s withdrawalfromtheBiennialasadirectresponse Another invitationmadebyGrabnertothe “real” BlackfemaleartistSiennaShieldsled, — and moretruetothenatureofwork — both inquantifiabletermsand, perhapsmoreimportantly, inqualifiable 1 — was asaprotest. Ourparticipationinsideofthiswhitesuprem - 2 The collectivehascounteredthisinterpretationoftheirwith- — a versionofthestorythatfocusesonsingle — to participateasacollective. Also, —

- taisha paggett’s underwaters 75 meant that many of the YAMS artists showed up at YAMS meant that many of the 3 utilizes a standard practice of ascribing a quote to an institution and of ascribing a quote to an institution utilizes a standard practice Times appreciate that the Whitney Museum has attempted to fashion an institutionally Whitney Museum has appreciate that the

I want to clarify. This is not about Joe Scanlan. We are not protesting Joe Scanlan, or Scanlan, Joe not protesting are We about Joe Scanlan. This is not I want to clarify.

Michelle Grabner. We are protesting institutional white supremacy and how it plays out. out. and how it plays white supremacy are protesting institutional We Michelle Grabner. (in Davis 2014) Thoughts about the Steps Back? Two “One Step Forward, In her 6 May Brooklyn Rail article, is What life when they are so patently untrue? How and why do these fantasies come to male artist’s fantasy of black female artistry the collective emotional investment in a white Why and tradition? power, by white money, in a milieu that is overwhelmingly dominated the reality of white dominance with a fetishistic does that milieu take great pains to mask 2014) display of black bodies and style? (Fusco who claimed that Grabner’s late- YAMS, This critique is reflected in a statement from Currently, on the Whitney’s 2014 Biennial website, YAMS’s film is listed as having been screened on 7–9 March March 7–9 on screened been having as listed is film YAMS’s website, Biennial 2014 Whitney’s the on Currently, 2014, March 15 on Machine Wayback the on archived webpage a to according (WhitneyHowever, 2014d). spe- are there Additionally, 2014). Machine (Wayback May 12–25 and March 7–9 were listed dates original the from page archived an on or page, archived the on listed times no but website current the on listed times cific not is There later. assigned were times supportto appears which 2014, screening specific that fact the December (Whitneysite their on Whitney 2014c the from withdrawal YAMS’s the of mention been never has and currently 2014d). and 3. Contrary to YAMS’s statements, the official response to the withdrawal from the Whitney Whitney from the response to the withdrawal the official statements, YAMS’s Contrary to Times A New York artists. in-fighting among as a case of antagonistic position YAMS’s framed by its demonstrates bias Whitney Biennial,” Stirs Conflict at Work Themed “Racially article, purview and treating it as a singu- outside of the museum’s “conflict” the locating very title, “ is quoted: “the museum” history the Biennial has ‘Throughout its article, In this lar problem. the discussion that arises from it,’ as well as the and challenging work, welcomed provocative and the choices of the three to support all the artists in the Biennial continue ‘We museum said. and does curators of the exhibition’ neutral space, The museum presents itself as a (Lee 2014). ” and economic positions of the extremely disproportionate social not take into consideration in relation to the distribution of nor does it acknowledge its own power the individual artists, While the resources. position of objective anonymity this employed by the institution, not to an individual person accountability exhibited by the museum. reinforces the lack of defending every- Whitney’s response as essentially the Fusco reads Debate,” Woolford Donelle “[...T]his is addressing the cause of the controversy: one’s right to do what they want without interrogate the implications of the wide-scale support She goes on to (2014). a whitewash [...]” the material placing the projected (white male) fear of irrelevance next to of Scanlan’s project, are scarcely participating in much less running the art which is that Black female artists reality, Fusco asks: market. 7–9 March and 12–25 May at unspecified times (as announced choice to show their video on part of a loop with other film and video)

the preview receptions, some coming from great distances, functioning as visible Black art- some coming from great distances, the preview receptions, fact not even on display and would not be for more ists in the Biennial when their work was in microaggressions such as the initial failure on the part of also cites YAMS than two months. in getting all of YAMS had and the difficulty the museum to post a wall tag for their work attri- whereas Joe Scanlan was permitted to completely their names included in the catalogue, so that it appeared she Woolford, to Donelle bute his Biennial contribution in the catalogue It was in light of Grabner’s was an actual artist and not a fictional creation (Davis 2014). that Sienna Shields to discuss their concerns, YAMS including her refusal to meet with choices, stat- Whitney Biennial artists on 13 May, to all 2014 YAMS sent a message on behalf of ­ “We ing: Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

76 Jaime Shearn Coan that ishardtomiss, andevenharder tojustify. This analytic, ratherthan offeringusefulinfor gallery representation, and relationshiptoGrabner. There isnobreakdownofrace, anabsence for thesechartswere:gender(male andfemaleonly), age, geographiclocation, MFA, teaching, practice and, similartotheconversations, anendeavoratforthrightness” (2014:265). Categories graphics designedtoaccompany myessayaremeanttorevealtransparencyincuratorial for extendinginvitationstheBiennial(notartiststhat she actuallydidinvite): “The info- which showdemographicinformationfortheartistssheconducted visitswithinpreparation demic, governmental, cultural, andartistic. supremacy. LikeFusco, Bellpointstothemutualreinforcement ofinstitutionsatwork:aca- institutions, therebyreinforcing YAMS’s challengeasaredresstotheverystructuresofwhite (mostly) Blackartists, who, asshepointsout, have comparativelylimitedresources, andontothe work” belongstoBlackartists. Sheredirectsthis responsibilityawayfromhercollectiveof take place. Bell’sresponse, inturn, addresses theimplicitassumptionthatburdenof “race tive memberChristaBelladded: different aesthetics, aboutwheredifferentartcomesfromandwhatthatmeans.” YAMS collec- from theperspectiveof, ‘we neednumbers’butactuallyofhavingtheknowledgetounderstand member Andre Springeroffered: “More transparency. Also, theideaoflookingatinclusionnot ideas forstepsthatinstitutionslikethe Whitney couldtakegoingforward, YAMS collective vention targets. It’snotjustScanlan;it’sGrabner. When BenDavis askediftheyhad ger” (Miranda 2014). Grabner, andeventhe Whitney, however, missesthepoint. The issuetheworkraisesisfarbig- to DawoudBey’slargephotographofPresidentObama it “frustrating” whenGrabnerdefensivelypointsouttheprimerealestatepositionshegave avows thepowersheholdsinherpositionasacurator Whitney Biennial. Mirandafinds ” Grabner,not bookkeeping.’ inframingherselfasanartistandnotacurator(sheisboth), dis- sity andrepresentationinmycuratorialendeavors. Art criticism, asSamuelBeckettsays, is by alltypesofartwork:critical, formal, process-based, political. This ishowIthinkaboutdiver ‘Asanartist[...]Iamcompelled ists, onlyoneofthemawoman?” ShethenquotesGrabner: “ bly justifyincluding[JoeScanlan’s]workinaBiennialthatincludedonlyeight ‘real’ blackart- the Donelle Woolford debate,” Carolina A. Mirandaasks: “How couldthe Whitney possi- (in Heddaya 2014). ­circumscribed bandaid. However, thisisawoundthatdeeplypenetratesthesurfaceofourskin” At thecloseofheressayforBiennialcatalogue, Grabner includesseveralpiecharts, Springer makestheprescientpointthat, beyondaquota system, ashiftinaestheticsneedsto Davis 2014) question totheinstitutions. What aretheygoingtodo? What’s their1-2-3stepplan?(in that isjustsoembedded, sonasty, inthecultureofartthiscountry. Solet’sturnthat them. We’re justartists. Ifeellikewe’vedoneourparttobringattentionaproblem rogate theirmethodsofcuration. Let’sturnthequestionpartofthisprogrambackto tutions whoarepartofJoeScanlan’sartscollective, toinvestigatethemselves, tointer last step. ment inwhichwhitesupremacyisnottolerated. That’s ourfirststep, anditshouldbeour question isconsistentlypointedatus. Ourentirepurposeistocontributeanenviron- the leastresources, wehavetheleastinstitutionalpowertosetagenda. And yetthe give mea1-2-3-stepideaofwhatneedstobedone...” It’sunfairinthesensethatwehave I alsofindyourquestionalittleunfair. To askus, the Yams, “Whatarethesteps?Canyou This point In anarticlepublishedintheLosAngeles Times, “Art andraceatthe Whitney: Rethinking After thatitistheresponsibilityof Whitney, or Yale, ofPrinceton, alloftheinsti- — the lackofracialequityinartworld — — but continues: “To laythisallon is theverypointthat YAMS’s inter - - - - taisha paggett’s underwaters 77 - She does get 5 engagement show, engagement show, the register of these descriptors strikes ghostly under the register of these descriptors strikes ghostly within this incendiary Biennial, within this incendiary Biennial, is ready) we is ready, (we - the infiltra life of a thousand little cuts, “She didn’t live the : —

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“Other locations,” “ephemeral” “Other locations,” In situating paggett’s underwaters Although this is complicated by the fact of the lived experience of the actors who play Woolford. play who actors the of experience lived the of fact the by complicated is this Although at manager media social @museummammy, a.k.a. Drew Kimberly from came critique succinct most the Perhaps black... artists9/103 count a did are excitement. @whitneymuseum my of all back take “i tweet: this in Met, the 2013). Frank (in BYE” person black fictional a is one and NINE. Eunsong Kim and Maya Isabella Mackrandilal, launching one of the most polemical cri- one of the most launching Mackrandilal, and Maya Isabella Eunsong Kim 4. 5. I hope not to flatten her work, which is far-reaching, but I do want to redress the lack of dis- which is far-reaching, I hope not to flatten her work, catalogue essay off-site events and the text of their Biennial YAMS’s The course around it. Perhaps the con- performances and catalogue text. demonstrate affinities with paggett’s on-site paggett’s work challenges than they appear. cerns and tactics of these artists are less divergent its politico-aesthetic roots in whiteness dislodged. an art world that is deeply in need of having the epistemologies that shape the viewing of Black paggett’s work facilitates an unlearning of the visible, Once the white space of the institution is made performance within the white cube. clearly felt. construction of Black space can be more a brief mention in Miranda’s article, albeit a parenthetical one: “(That woman, incidentally, was was incidentally, “(That woman, albeit a parenthetical one: article, a brief mention in Miranda’s Whitney was an L.A.-based dancer and choreographer whose presence at the taisha paggett, of five lasting only for a series of performances at the museum held over a period ephemeral, (Miranda 2014). days)” these And yet, much like paggett’s absence from the public dialogue around the Biennial. tones, a more positive sense: paggett’s work is very much an descriptors are also strikingly accurate in constant presence her almost However, places. intentional accumulation of traces and (Other) outside as well as the extension of her performance in the museum over a period of five days, alongside the paggett’s work, can hardly be seen as a minor event. of the space of the museum, Biennial’s curatorial practices. Whitney challenges the YAMS’s, tor’s life” (2014). They point out that YAMS is “a collective of 38 mostly black & queer artists collective of 38 mostly black & queer artists “a is YAMS They point out that (2014). tor’s life” Kim and Mackrandilal essay, In the final section of their as one artist.” but barely gets treated Let’s talk who they are. all know We tired of talking about them. “We’re take a sharp turn: Let’s talk about the ones who about the people on the margins of things. Let’s talk about us. Whitney viewer of the the average “Would they turn to taisha paggett: And then slip through.” name haunts the page of the Her was in the show? Probably not. Biennial know that paggett ‘Other Locations’ is in she taisha paggett’s museum guide, (Kim and Mackrandilal 2014). ” even though these articles are pri- in most of the articles I have surveyed, name does not appear in the Biennial. the representation of Black female artists marily concerned with

took place in the gallery lobby of the is ready) we is ready, (we taisha paggett’s underwaters This was not the first time that paggett has presented April 2014. Whitney Museum from 16–20 a variety of her movement-based work in a gallery or museum; paggett has created works for Invited to participate in the Biennial by the outdoors. including black box theatres and spaces, rather than producing a ticketed limited-­ paggett, Anthony Elms, curator The Making of Black Space The Making of Black tiques against the 2014 Whitney Biennial, “The Whitney Biennial for Angry Women,” dismiss Women,” Angry Whitney Biennial for “The Biennial, Whitney the 2014 tiques against of lived experi- due to the absence as a Black female artist Woolford of Donelle the inclusion persona ence in Scanlan’s fictional mation about unequal distribution of access across intersecting factors, presents each category presents each category intersecting factors, of access across unequal distribution mation about who has made statements from the curator contribution This is also an interesting in isolation. bookkeeping. not being about about diversity Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

78 Jaime Shearn Coan the Biennial. as acounterpublicamidsttheseeminglyahistoricalinstantiationofpresentrepresentedby space capableoffacilitatingcommunicationwithspiritsandothernonpresententitiesfunctions ” (paggett2014b). paggett’srepurposingofthelobbygalleryintoatranshistorical of ‘the black’ personal healingaswelltheof “historical traumalockedintheetherandbody black boxperformance, evenbeyondtheboundariesofperforming, shecouldcreateaspacefor performance produced soundviaapersona(paggett2014b). Inotherwords, shewouldnot “break” fromthe men’s loaferstosandalssneakers. pants, shirts, hats, andwigs, andunderwhichstoodpairsofshoes, rangingfromhighheelsto and redressingslowlyasshefacedaclothesrackplacedatthebackwall, onwhichhungdresses, appearing inblackface. paggettchangedfromonetoanotherinfrontofspectators, undressing tic powers, anaggressiveafro’dmasculineperson, andaversionofpaggettherself, sometimes them as:aBlackfemaledomestic, afemmeBlackwomanstrongwithsexualandshamanis- thetic. Frommyparticularsubjectpositionasaqueer, whitetransman, Iwillventuretodescribe personae duringmuseumhoursoveraperiodoffivedays. even anoccupation), paggettwouldmoveinandoutofthespaceguisefourdifferent museum (alternatively, itcouldbedescribedasaninstallation, durationalperformance, or conceived

nature ofidentity. its exposure, duetothesharedproximityofperformer/persona andspectator, oftherelational artistic andsocialeconomies. Moreover, paggett’sworkservesapedagogicalfunctionthrough personae inhabit, aswellthetracesofdailylifethatperformer leavesbehind), reorganize her interestinresidueandtraces(fromthevarioustemporalities andgeographiczonesthather In aninstitutionwhereartobjectsaremarkersofvalue, herutilizationofdomesticobjectsand “performing” demonstratearesistancetoproscriptiveinstitutional policiesthatpolicebodies. Black andqueerartists)herextensionoutofthemuseum duringhourswhensheisofficially that feelsakintoSiennaShield’sdecisionextendherpersonal invitationtoacollectiveof to Blackfemaleartistsinanartworlddominatedbywhitemen. Herinclusionofothers(amove Whitney, theseBlackspacestranscendtheinstitution. “Invisible” tospectators, inaccessibletoticket-holders, andclosedtodocumentationbythe the gallery. Placinglimitson(white)access, theinterviewsfunctionasspacesof/forblackness. missions, whilelive, scrambledthevoices, sothattheywerepresent, yetincomprehensible, in the onlylocationswherepaggettspoke, andonlytheintervieweescouldhearher. The trans- views duringthehoursthatshewassupposedtobeperforming. The off-siteinterviewswere paggett exceededtheboundsofmuseumquiteliterallybyleavingittoconductherinter and weretransmittedviahercellphonebackintospeakersattachedtotheceilingofgallery. views withBlackfemaleandtransgenderdanceartists. All oftheseinterviewsoccurredoff-site (paggett 2014b). Overthecourseofherfivedaysingallery, paggettconductedseveninter ers anddrivehometheideathatthisperformance, andartmakingingeneralforme, isresearch” abstractly, orifnothingelse, tousethisasacallconnectwithotherBlackdancersandmov- due tobudgetlimitations, paggettendeavoredto “still includetheirpresencesomehow, even 6. paggett adheredtoavowofsilencethroughoutthedurationpiece, exceptwhenshe The fourpersonae, nevernamedordefined, rangeingenderpresentation, era, age, andaes - social agency” (1999:1). andmajoritarian thuspublic seizesphere [...] offer the minoritarian subject a space to situate itself in history This follows José Esteban Muñoz’s claim that “counterpublics that contest the hegemonic supremacy of the paggett’s employmentofpersonaedestabilizesandrejectsthe representationalroleassigned After herproposaltocreateaworkthatfeaturedlargegroupofBlackdancerswasrejected underwaters asanimmersiveenvironment. Also describedasa “residency” bythe 6 — opening upthepossibilitythat, inpushingherselfbeyondtheconventionsofa - - taisha paggett’s underwaters 79 - Matter and — it seems that she is aware of other . ready) is we Whitney The underwatersready, is (we — with a broom laid flat in front. Handwritten text appears with a broom laid flat in front. — Figure 2. taisha paggett, taisha 2. Figure Ashley Hunt) by (Photo 2014. Art, American of Museum - that is, she does not distinguish us one from another; she seems to see she does not distinguish us one that is, — Demonic Grounds along with each individual spectator. Over the course of the two days I spend along with each individual spectator. —

Geomancy, Domesticity/Dreamer of with the grace moves low-heeled shoes, and plain black cotton dress an off-white She wears up the pieces of plates picking meditatively, walking sweeping, Her primary actions are middle age. very dance, She ends with a little old-fashioned the space. re-composing another persona, by broken of her skirt. holding the edges proper,

1. - where peo lobby, the crowded and noisy I pass through visit to the Biennial, On my first I Once I enter the gallery, The persona who occupies this space looks like paggett, but, aside from being dressed differ but, like paggett, The persona who occupies this space looks ently than she usually dresses (nothing unusual for a performance), she registers no awareness she registers no for a performance), ently than she usually dresses (nothing unusual of who is around her elsewhere Her concentration is directed us in soft focus. so it feels espe- There is no designated performance area or stage, other information. images, Although the wall text outside the door mentions cially strange to be with her but not with her. feel my make up my own stories, so I must interpret, they are not listed or described, personae, own responses all four personae. I encounter in this space of paggett’s making, ple are chatting in groups, looking at guides, taking selfies, and notice an open entryway to the an open entryway and notice selfies, taking at guides, looking in groups, ple are chatting the on both sides of by several museumgoers watched attentively paggett, elevators. left of the in front foot lines up exactly One the entry. and forth just outside is pacing slowly back opening, and too-big black off-white dress She is wearing a simple she is on a tightrope. as if of the other, she has It feels as if her eyes far away. her hair, her dress and she smoothes As she walks, loafers. in the midst of a new keeping her composure another time and place, been transported from and unfamiliar environment. the pres- aside from find that, group ence of paggett and a a lot to there is of spectators, and the left is a hair To take in. with a makeup station: a shelf and makeup, liquid a pic, sponge, hanging safety pins; and a mirror on the floor, Nearby on the wall. pitchers bunches of bananas, and banana peels are of water, lined up on top of a white board laid on the ground (required by the museum in order to keep organic material off the floor). A ball of yarn rests in one cor Off to somewhat unraveled. ner, the right stands a bucket of dirty water with a dirty rag hang- Scattered ing over the side of it. across the space are dozens of stacks over the course of the five days), folding chairs (to be placed in various configurations and a swept-up pile of shattered plates. tea lights placed on individual plates, of white plates, On and a microphone. a phone, two clock radios, Near the doorway is a high stand containing a digital wrist- a small pile of pastels, a musical triangle, a low shelf against the right wall: sage, and books a pile of hand towels, droplets (blood?) pressed between film, watch, Memory, SUBJECT. TURNING OBJECT INTO TEARS and on the wall above the shelf: PRODUCE plate on the stone floor. Ripped-up strips of paper clutter a nearby Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

80 Jaime Shearn Coan 2014. (Photo by Christopher Golden) Figure 3. taisha paggett, 3. 2. hair forward, coveringherchest. them up. Sheputsontight whitepants, thenahairnetandthewig, finger-combing the haired brownwig. Shetakes offherpants, laysthemoutontheground, foldsandhangs Standing inverycloseproximity tospectators, shecombsoutawaist-length, straight- moment isyelling, “It’s my fucking history!” gathering andshifting, energy, dancingaround theperiphery, playing thetriangle. Hercatalyzing wig, wearing strappy highheelsorbarefoot. actionsare Herprimary traveling throughthespace, She isdressed intightwhite pants, aclingingwhite short-sleeve shirtortopless, alongstraight Femininity/Sexuality/Youth/Magic shaking slightly. Frisbees. After finishing, hesitsdownonachair withhisheaddown, breathing, hishead then dropstheshakyqualityquiteabruptlytopickupandhurl platesagainstthewall, like floor, restacks, lurching andstaggeringacrosstheroom. Puttingonanafrowig, hepauses, Grasping fordishes, almostblindly, heunstacks them, movesthemaroundonthestone oversized suitjacketoverhishead, hobbling, making dodderingoldmanmovements. His toescirclehisshoesasiftheyaretoodrunktoknowthe way forward. Hepullsan dishes against thewall. Piper’s He wears agray suitjacket andwhite pants, anafrowig, oversized scuffedshoes(resembles Adrian Masculinity/Old Age/Anger downward. Hersimplemovementsaregraceful, distilled, fluid. eyes arefaraway;sheissilent. Shesweeps, shewashesthefloor, oftenwith herfaceturned and carefully, smoothingherdress, fidgetingwiththebuttons, playingwithherhair. Her Wearing acottondress, knee-lengthandoff-white, inflatsorbarefoot, shewalksslowly Mythic Being). actionsare Hisprimary staggering andsmashing aroundasifdrunk underwaters (we is ready,underwaters we is ready). The Whitney Museum of American Art, taisha paggett’s underwaters 81 - - blending and transpos- — the Butlerian artifice and con- — an often unattended movement that accompanies largely — taisha: casual athletic wear (leggings, sneakers, kneepads), sometimes with the addition of black of black with the addition sometimes kneepads), sneakers, (leggings, athletic wear taisha: casual keeping moving plates, lighting candles, primary actions: writing, neck; and on face liquid makeup space. exiting the of time, track her clothes removes T-shirt, and a and selects leggings to the clothing rack paggett walks tea lights on each She places She drinks water. slowly dresses. underwear, down to her She leaves, candle. lighter or candle to lighting them with a around the space, plate placed forward and retreating in charging She reenters, moving quickly. very intentionally, those of an athlete preparing She lunges; her movements are lines. reverse along invisible is strong and rubbery. her body to compete,

4. a Each persona reaches order. in a fixed these personae each day, paggett cycles through (2008:182) unthought positions and appositions. the frames enforced by the but also of blackness and of gender, “framing” paggett resists the paggett describes the movement scores as “a set of tasks in place to support an energetic arc” arc” “a set of tasks in place to support an energetic paggett describes the movement scores as paggett slowly and with a sense of ceremony. The costume changes happen in full view, altogether. sublimity fugitive, to another, is tantamount the black, Perhaps the thing, vestibule; the object vibrates against its Some/thing escapes in or through the object’s that resists enfram- The air of the thing and troubled air gets out. frame like a resonator, ing is what I’m interested in “breaking point,” which instigates the transition to the next persona. They are marked by differ persona. which instigates the transition to the next “breaking point,” In an interview recorded about a year prior to the gallery space and the dance concert space. to a question I asked about her interest in creating paggett responded Biennial performance, I started was not thinking that I wanted to be inter “How installations in visual arts settings: ent costumes, which have variation, and each persona has an affect, embodiment, and movement and movement embodiment, an affect, and each persona has have variation, which ent costumes, is very important; including the wigs, The weight and shape of the costumes, score of its own. “feel the body more as a three- her to allowing “exoskeleton,” as an she considers the costume emerges out of this contact, Her quality of movement (paggett 2017). dimensional sculpture” particular pair of tight jeans or a boxy how the persona inside a kinesthetically, as she imagines, they are also interdependent; their are distinct, Although the personae suit jacket might move. the others. tasks correspond/respond to the actions of and made more weighted with iconographic significance, These movements are (paggett 2017). class, gender, which further signify and gesture, discursively precise through the use of costume over the dura- developing in an accretive fashion The movement scores, and historical period. “a series quite literally, contribute to the coherence of each persona; they are, tion of the work, Although 1988:523). (Butler consolidated through time” and revised, of acts which are renewed, Judith Butler’s theory of etc.), swagger, speech, based in the physicality of the body (gesture, paggett’s work engaged with on a discursive level. performativity and (gender) identity is often performstime. the process of identity formation in real She often pauses while dressing, she puts them away. straightens out and folds the garments as or among so that she seems to be between performing an action or sequence of movements, is a public process The passing between personae personae. through iconographic territory paggett is traveling structedness show. representation of Her use of personae denies an essentialized and objects. speech, ing gestures, among other of Blackness,” “The Case in his essay Fred Moten, and also of blackness. gender, White Masks (1952), Skin, of Frantz Fanon’s Black things a conversation with the fifth chapter points to the fugitivity of blackness: Why are they so set? Identity, I just started thinking about the frames in dance. disciplinary. “air of the The (in Coan 2013). and the notion of the black dancer was one of those frames” as paggett slips through the movement scores that are fills the gallery thing that resists framing” linked to each persona. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

82 Jaime Shearn Coan If Ihadnotbeenpresentatitsmaking, Iwouldnotknowitexisted. The textsthatpaggettcre this texthasbeenshreddedandplacedonaplate (Moten 2003:48). value oftheritualasmeaningseemstoresideininstrumentsand gestures;itisaparalanguage” The movingofplatesonthestonefloor, thesweeping, theremovalofclothesandmakeup: “The traces arelesseasytotrack. Motenunderstandstheephemeral asamodeofresistance(2003:47). visual (andolfactory)butalsobearwitnesstosound. Sound, likemovement, is­ always, whenpaggettisabsentandshepresent. The tracesalllinktoherbody. They are fragments ofdishes, dentsinthewallfromflungdishes, theshreddedtext. Theyarepresent silence. The tracesofthepersonaeaccumulateinspace:bananapeels, wornclothesandwigs, magic, talismanic. Itispaggett’sspace, orthespaceofherfourpersonae, heldtogetherby become placesthatarenolongeraccessible, proofoftheinstabilityarchive. ates inthispiecetakeonthequalityoftransmissionslaterliterallydeconstructed. The textstoo of knowledgeandfeeling, placesofexperience. modes oftransportationtoaccesswhilealsoalludingimaginativeordiscursiveplaces, places tators inthe Whitney. The riddle-likequalityofthetextreferstoplacesthatrequirevarious text, paggettlinksherbodytoplace(s)thatshehasknownbutmaybeinvisiblethespec- OTHERS NOT. SOMEMAY BE REACHED BYFOOT. OTHERS ONLY BYSEA.” Inthis ing rackandkneelsdownonthefloortowrite: “SOME PARTS OFME ARE VISIBLE, tional, not “merely containersforhumancomplexitiesandsocialrelations” (xi). hard tomakegeographywhatitis” (xi). Likeidentity, spaceandplaceareconstructedrela- however, secureandunwavering:weproducespace, weproduceitsmeanings, andweworkvery (2006:xi). Shewarnsagainstbeingseducedbyapassiverelationshiptospace: “Geography isnot, selfhood andfeettotheground, itseeminglycalibrateswhere, andthereforewho, weare” ‘justis’notonlyanchorsour inist perspective. McKittrickarguesthattheideaspace “ a bookthatalignsthedisciplinesofgeographyandBlackstudies, withaspecificallyBlackfem- is KatherineMcKittrick’sDemonicGrounds:Black Women andtheCartographies (2006), ofStruggle space butthosenotpresenttoo. and imaginativeplacesmoveamongbetweenusall that paggett’sbodyisnottheonlyonecarrieshistoricalandgeographicaltraces. Material tapping intotheirlayers” (paggett2014a:231). That parenthetical “mine andyours” remindsus and ideas. moreconstraintsandregiftingtounearthmeaningfromthethingsthatalreadyexist. “more cleaninghouse. moreacknowledginginner-historical (mineandyours)thoughts, frames one init, includingspectators. InherBiennialcatalogueentry, paggettdescribesherpriorities: who iscreatingthespace;shemaybesettingintentionsforit, butthespaceismadebyevery- ering ofobjects, hermovementscores, hermovingbetweenpersonae. Butitisnotshealone or body. Gesture then, isacommunal activity, neversingular, neverrestrictedtoasingletemporality tories andpossibilitieswithina phobicmajoritarianpublicculture[The Whitney]” (2009 :67). cal becoming. Gestures transmit ephemeralknowledgeoflostqueer[andBlackandfemale] his- on gestureatomizesmovement. These atomizedandparticularmovementstelltales ofhistori- nication tootherswhoarenotpresent, notvisible. JoséEsteban Muñozwrites: “Concentrating While paggett’sgesturesarewitnessedbythoseinthegallery, theyarealsoaformofcommu- dancing itselfisgestural, inthatitisreachingsomewhere, stretchingbeyondthewhitewalls. At onepointpaggettunclipsapieceofwhiteposterboardfrompantshangeronthecloth- One ofthebooksstackedonshelfneardoor(paggettleavesavisibletrailresearch) paggett’s Biennialinstallationmapsnewmeaningintothegalleryspace, throughhergath- paggett smoothsherhair, herdress;shetapsaplateandlookstothecornerofroom: After sheisdoneandleaves, thewrittentextremains. The nextday, whenIreenterthespace, There areobjectseverywhere, accessible, butitseemsimpossibletotouchthem. They are — the objectremainsbutisnolongerreadable. — not onlythosewhoarepresentinthe ephemeral — its - taisha paggett’s underwaters 83 - . ready) is we Whitney The underwatersready, is (we in other words, where their bodies are expected where their bodies are in other words, — Figure 4. taisha paggett, taisha 4. Figure Ashley Hunt) by (Photo 2014. Art, American of Museum [occurs]: people blink, and look again. The proximity of such bodies and look again. disorientation [occurs]: people blink,

The way that paggett embodies the personae and moves between them destabilizes the between them the personae and moves paggett embodies The way that no designated area for there is no stage, the lights are bright, In paggett’s gallery space, When wearing the liquid notion of a fixed “self.” Although one of the four figures she moves among is herself, it is still it is still is herself, she moves among one of the four figures Although “self.” fixed notion of a and more by contemporary clothes marked persona, this Moreover, is performing. a self that by the application and is sometimes altered sequences, or postmodern movement pedestrian explores , in Chromophobia David Batchelor, dark liquid makeup. her face and neck of removal on of color as an of the cosmetic application (from Plato on) line of interpretation the historical then makeup masks a essence, if appearance masks surface veils depth, “If exercise in deceit: yet the make- functions as a façade, Makeup (2000:54). disguises a disguise” veils a veil, mask, calling into question more completely reveal the skin underneath, up’s concealing properties vis- on or over the skin also serves to make This painting skin altogether. the signification of the meaning racial schema,” “epidermal Fanon refers to as the ible the intersubjective experience the force of which over body, historically sedimented racial gaze in the the registration of the spectators are Because paggett makes no eye contact and does not speak, spectators to occupy. simultaneously aware of her presence and their own but are also aware of being unaddressed. Many The spectators are compelled to set their own courses for how to compose themselves. distrib- occasionally even wearing the audio guide headphones remain perched in the doorway, Some talk loudly; others uted by the museum; others come right up close to inspect everything. a choice that could cre- paggett never looks directly at anyone, snap photographs interminably. surprise, I find expressions of self-consciousness, ate either a sense of autonomy or discomfort. makes familiar spaces seem strange” (159). (159). makes familiar spaces seem strange” powers the Black subject’s own corporeal schema: the previously felt outlines of their physi- own corporeal schema: the previously powers the Black subject’s blackface makeup further In its conjuring of traditions of minstrelsy, cality ([1952] 1967:112). applying black- But in paggett’s case, being the object of racial looking. casts the performer into way that makes the racial gaze hailing the gaze of the spectator in a face is an agential act, explicit — impossible to deny. paggett seems to move makeup, exiting the gal- in a force field, lery space past spectators who Is it the appear to be shocked. dark makeup or the sudden departure that causes this reac- tion? Or is it the combination of the two? paggett mixes up images and actions of abjection in her Blackness, and agency. is nothing if not performance, For some spectators in fugitive. Whitney, the lobby gallery of the there is perhaps a disjuncture between their experience within paggett’s installation and their customary ease within the walls Ahmed Sara of an art institution. makes a compelling argument for the differentially experienced “White bodies are comfortable as they inhabit spaces: sense of belonging in white institutional (2007:158) spaces that extend their shape” is when non-white bodies appear in white spaces that It because they have always been there. a “process of Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

84 Jaime Shearn Coan spectators in relation to her and to her personae with their various historical and cultural iconog in timeandspace, positioningherselfinmultiplelocations, therebyshiftingthepositionsof within, thenarrativesofpast” ([1990]1994:394). The personaeallowpaggetttomovearound writes, “the nameswegivetothedifferentwaysarepositionedby, andpositionourselves space, everyoneisondisplay(seeCoan2014). and curiosity (Nancy 2000:28–29). or simultaneousexistence, ofothers: “the singular-plural constitutestheveryessenceofBeing” ops amodelandgrammarforanontologythatisbroughtintobeingthroughthecompresence, that occurwithinthespace. The philosopherJeanLucNancy’stextBeingSingularPlural devel tial matters” (2006:xiii)andalsoprovidesausefulanalyticfortheencountersofracialdifference tion ofthepoliticsidentityhearkensbacktoMcKittrick’sclaimthat “Black mattersarespa every identityisextendedwitharelationshipthroughtheother(1997:71). This spatializa ing. Hence, thereisalwaysapoliticsofidentity, apoliticsofposition” (395). thing bothwithinandoutsideofourcontrol: “cultural identityis “[n]ot anessencebutaposition into question. Hall’sformulationemphasizesthecontingencyofidentity, depictingitassome as theirown, astheywatchpaggettslipintoandoutofpersonae, theymaycalltheirassumptions raphies. While thespectatorsmighthaveafixedconceptionof­ creation ofBlack space, Imeanthatshecreates acapaciousspaceforrange ofBlacklived ” (2014a:229). at me?’ with Rainer’sconcernsbyquoting her: “another question: ‘where doilookwhenyou’relooking the bodybeing, andbeing watched” (6). Inhercatalogueessay, paggett demonstratesanaffinity and resistancetoexhibition, betweenbodyandbeholder” (2008:7). Or, moresimply, “between the 1960s, articulatesthetensionas “the spacebetweeninterest in performativecommunication reaching backatleasttothe1960s. CarrieLambert-Beatty, inBeing Watched: Yvonne Rainerand tion, anepisteme, hegemonicandforceful” (1993:17). This tensionhasalineageinperformance assertion that “The visualfieldisnotneutraltothequestion ofrace;itisitselfaracialforma- iety aroundwhichfearofdifferenceaggregates” (18). Here it’s usefulalsotorememberButler’s negotiation requireanaudience” (2011:19). Moreover, shewrites, “the bodyisthelocusofanx- Smith, inherstudyofbody-orientedperformance, maintains that “identity-formation and basic levelofjustbeingaBlackfemaleartistinthemuseummustbetakenintoaccount. Cherise In consideringpaggett’sperformanceatthe Whitney, theaffectivelaborsheexpendson by paggettinherBiennialcatalogueessay: And mightitnotalsorefertoeveryoneintheroom? This expansionofreferencesisreinforced emphasizes thecollective “we,” apluralsingular. Butmightnot the “we” refertothepersonae? work, “from onesingulartoanother, thereiscontiguitybutnotcontinuity” (5). The titleofpaggett’s yet actualmatterdoesnottransferfromonebodytoanother. To existinthemodeofbeing-with, be contactimprovisation, inwhichweightmustbecontinuallydistributedbetweenbodiesand mutually reinforcedpressurethatisconstitutive of from, inthesenseofwith, other(atleastpossible)positions, oritsdistinctionamong, inthesense between, otherpositions” (12). The singular-plural isnotauniversalizingofsingularitybut paggett’s personaefunctionasvarious “positions” oridentities, whichare, asStuartHall When Isaythatpaggett’sdestabilization ofafixednotionBlackidentityresultsinthe going down. (2014a:231) from, andhowdeeplyconsciouslywe’rebreathing(theunderseeing)asallofthisis depending onwhatwe’reopentoreceiving, whatinterpretiveframeswe’respeakingto/ also remember:theexperienceisnotformebutanus-nessthatdiesandcomesalive In amodethatresonateswiththechoreographic, Nancydepictspositionas “its distinction Édouard GlissantinPoetics ofRelationenvisionsarhizomaticstructureinwhich “each and underwaters (we isready, we isready), expressesgrammaticallyaBlackvernacularthat — as welltheembodimentofastiffnessthatexpressesnoreactionatall. Inthis — perhaps aphysicalanalogueforthiswould performer’s identity, aswell ------taisha paggett’s underwaters 85 - (2012) like it — (paggett 2012) English calls for a pri- English calls

7 audience isn’t willing to see. what’s not there and what the and what not there what’s it could simply be about us it could simply be about — which she identifies as an approach which she identifies —

stay visible, stay wanting more, stay addressing stay more, wanting stay visible, stay of falling prey to “doing something wrong” as “doing something wrong” of falling prey to — might all be doing something wrong. stay knowing that if something is only to be gotten, we that if something is only to be gotten, knowing stay stay knowing that if they get this dance, there might be something wrong. there this dance, that if they get knowing stay

s, the spectator is not always willing or capable of seeing. the spectator is not always willing or capable of seeing. s, As I observed during underwater I feel like work is an experience. When you even say that word “about,” it fixes “about,” When you even say that word experience. I feel like work is an has to have a certain conclusion, or have a series of logic in place. I feel that that’s really or have a series of logic in place. conclusion, has to have a certain This the audience gets. it’s not about not caring what So, at all. limiting and not useful what the work is about anyways “about” work might not be (in Coan 2013) being together in space. The title of my essay is obviously playing off of his. of off playing obviously is essay my title of The 7. While primarily addressing the spectator, this quote also demonstrates that paggett does While primarily addressing the spectator, not exempt herself from this same process the work. a result of being too focused on a perceived outcome or direction or meaning for Many spectators don’t make it past the entryway, unwilling to even enter, remaining onlook- unwilling to even enter, Many spectators don’t make it past the entryway, enter do not nec- Those that do these onlookers are even wearing headsets. Occasionally, ers. plates and then as paggett lights candles on one point, At essarily register their surroundings. the phone sys- two white men in their 40s appear to have hacked into moves the plates around, One of them interviews when she leaves the space). tem (which is meant to transmit paggett’s which at some point involves telling a narrative, speaks directly into the mic on the platform, proclamation causes me to wonder whether paggett’s (This “I’m gay!” him loudly exclaiming: which now func- talking into his phone, around, queerness is visible to him.) His friend walks getting a kick watch out for that banana,” shoelace, out for that “Watch tions as a microphone: of spectators bringing their accustomed modes of This strikes me as an example out of himself. they observe, They don’t attempt to adjust themselves to what comportment into the gallery. with the per without any interaction “take up space” inhabit their experience and but instead, former. While they are engaged and active, there is no dialogic relationship and presumably, no there is no dialogic relationship and presumably, While they are engaged and active, former. The expectation of the spec- the worlds around them. shift in their conception of themselves or it had been reentering the space after when, tators to be entertained also made itself present who was seated and several people surrounded the persona, cordoned off due to dish-breaking, who was white and with his one adolescent boy, I overheard breathing heavily for some time. do something!” “C’mon art lady, family say, oritization of perception over conception in the viewing of art by racialized artists (2007:34). He artists (2007:34). of art by racialized in the viewing of perception over conception oritization can information they spectators scan for wherein process of positive identification, describes a previ- and against other, collated according to information is then This (34). index as racialized loop that prevents is a kind of feedback English is describing What ideas or frames. ously held In a simi- contradictory art. from forming in response to complex, new knowledge production “aboutness” about the pitfalls of paggett speaks lar vein, to performance that is more concerned with content and interpretation than with the experi- is more concerned with content and interpretation to performance that ence itself: In “vestibular mantra (or radical virtuosities for a brave new dance)” paggett writes: (or radical virtuosities for a brave new dance)” “vestibular mantra In experience. This is one strategy for eliding the proscriptive nature of Black representational art Black representational nature of for eliding the proscriptive This is one strategy experience. Darkness. Total Art in of Work a How to See English outlines in that Darby Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021 Museum of American Art, 2014. (Photo by Hunt) Ashley Figure 5. taisha paggett, 86 Jaime Shearn Coan what movesbetweenthem is nodirectcontactbetweenpaggettandthespectators, thespaceisundoubtedlychargedwith former besimultaneouslyhereandsomewhereelse uous waysofbeing. Howdoesthepresenceofspectatorsimpactperformer?Canper bodies andobjects. Initsconnectiontothepresent, itcanleadtonew, contingent, andcontig- Improvisation reliesonanawarenessofthebodyinspaceandtime, inrelationshiptoother 2014). When sheexitsthespace, whathappenstothespectators floor, writesonit, propsitagainstthewall, andwalksout. Itreads “OH WONDER” (seeCoan into her “regular” clothes. Shetakesapieceofpaperfromtheclothingrack, placesitonthe ringing thetriangleamongspectators. Imovebacktogiveherspaceasshechanges She walksovertothelowshelf, picksuphertriangle, andmovesalongtheperipheryagain, breath becomesloudandlabored. The roomisthickwithconcentration. And thenshestops. jumping, causingherhairtoliftandrevealglimpsesoffacethefrontbody. Her fluid, shudderingasshetwistsandrollsherhips. Soonshepunctuateshermovementwith ting lowwithaflatback, herarmsstretchedbehindher, pickingupspeedandbecomingmore hunched andfaceobscuredbyherwig. Shethenentersacornerandbeginsslowdance, squat- the peripheryofspace, alwaysmaintainingasteadyrhythmasshetravelswithshoulders wig, whichshefinger-combs forwardtocoverherchestandface. Shestartsmovingalong to makethemcomfortable. The securityguardrepresentstheinstitutionthatsheisemployed fused afterwanderinginfromthe lobby. Sheoftenreassuresthemthattheycan enter; shetries She isveryfriendlyandinteracts affablywiththemuseumguests, whoareoftenvery con- guards (paggettalwayshasaguard present, perthe Whitney): aBlackwomaninherearly 40s. belongs inamuseum. ing tomakesenseofwhathehasseenalongsideeverything haslearnedaboutwhatandwho which shouldalsobeconsideredinrelationtowhoisrequesting it, demonstratesthatheistry- identity markersoccupyingthisinstitutionalspace, and behavingbadlynoless. Hisresponse, ulous andhumorousaffect, hintingattheincongruityof presence ofsomeonewiththese of paggettinthisway(herepeats “Black lady” afewtimes)matches withhissomewhatincred- Towards theendofsecondday, paggettchangesintotightwhitepantsandalongbrown Because Ispendsomuchtime in thegallery, Ibecomefamiliarwithoneofthesecurity underwaters (we is ready,underwaters The Whitney we is ready). — it isasharedfield. — herself andothers?Eventhoughthere ing things,” hesays. Hisframing old. “It wasaBlackladythrow- probably aroundeightyears what hehasseen. HeisBlack, an educationaltour. Iaska boy ple whoappeartobepartof there isagroupofyoungpeo- just afterpaggetthasleft, where second day, Ienterthespace being inBlackspaces. Onthe tions andmoreaccustomedto tomed tobeinginwhiteinstitu- spectators whoarelessaccus- ger, andtoreturn. There arealso the spectatorswhotendtolin- paggett andherwork. These are present whoarefamiliarwith consumers, therearealsomany are generalcontemporaryart focusing onthespectatorswho — While Ihavebeenprimarily do theyexistwithout her? - taisha paggett’s underwaters 87 - - Rather 8 from the ledgers of Middle Passage to slave codes from the ledgers of Middle Passage to slave —

9 is multiplied exponentially by the historical erasure and silencing of this is multiplied exponentially by the historical — it sounds like men on the moon, or an echo chamber. I catch stray words and echo chamber. or an it sounds like men on the moon, — imaginatively takes up Spiller’s call to “make a place” for the Black “make a place” imaginatively takes up Spiller’s call to underwaters

The first interview paggett conducts takes place on Wednesday 16 April at 4:45 p.m. The April at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday 16 The first interview paggett conducts takes place on paggett appreciated the presence of the guards, experiencing them as witnesses (paggett 2017). Looking over over Looking 2017). (paggett witnesses as them experiencing guards, the of presence the appreciated paggett present. spectators only the were guards security the when times were there appears it documentation, photo performwill she a Museum, the of out and in freely “Moving Whitney: the from description the to this Compare (Whitney 2014a). tasks” and choreographies subtle through her leads that score and then there’s this relationship to land, geography... i’ve been pawing over texts about i’ve been pawing over texts geography... and then there’s this relationship to land, of being geographic and these ideas support geography and Blackness and the notion in the walls of the prestigious institution, in defying my interest in traversing the city, in seeing the street as a “supposed to be in,” not being beholden to the space that I’m (paggett 2015) museum. paggett’s Beyond the placement of the security guards and at times, a fire marshal (due to the presence a of the security guards and at times, Beyond the placement Sharp items may periodic nudity. ] performance involves Paggett’s [sic Taisha WARNING: Please be attentive. and may be present on the floor. occasionally be thrown 8. 9. phone rings. I am alone in the gallery. I press the green button to activate the transmission, as I press the green button to activate the transmission, I am alone in the gallery. phone rings. A few moments later, but leaves shortly. right outside, paggett is still instructed by a small sign. I hear voices Mostly I catch facing down from the ceiling. the room, Speakers are spaced throughout phrases. It seems like at some and the rhythm of the conversation. “Um...yeah...it was sort of,” the fillers: difficult moments. especially about point paggett is talking about her experience during the day, female subject not only through the creation of personae and the production of texts but also by female subject not only through the creation paggett writes: trans artists into the work. bringing interviews with Black female and violence. The sign placed at the entry to paggett’s installation, positing paggett’s nudity as a positing paggett’s paggett’s installation, The sign placed at the entry to violence. is thoroughly implicated in the grammar of this historical era- possible threat to the spectator, “it is our task to make a place for this different Spillers ends her essay with a call to action: sure. (80). social subject” than reflecting the hushed gravity of the space, the guard exclaims to me with a big smile: “tai- me with a big smile: guard exclaims to the of the space, the hushed gravity than reflecting I find myself rather jolted time, Another got some tricks up her sleeve!” That girl’s sha’s crazy! and “She’s back!” loudly to me, gallery taking notes and the guard says when I am in the empty paggett behind me. I turn to see the mute also mediate the space. Whitney interventions on the part of the other of the lit candles), threats to the spectator: nudity identifies potential outside of the gallery, placed just This sign, in her canonical Hortense Spillers, to the performer are identified. No threats and violence. sub- the paradoxical position of the Black female explores Papa’s Maybe,” “Mama’s Baby, essay, a meeting ground of investments and privations in “a locus of confounded identities, ject as She argues that Black women have histor (1987:65). the natural treasury of rhetorical wealth” ascribed within the field of whiteness as well as ically been kept outside of the gendered space role highlighting the important of blackness (80), the male-dominated historical representation violence per Spillers links the played in that process. and grammar have syntax, that language, petuated against Black women in the US to today’s alarmingly high rates of murder for Black I will add, to the Moynihan Report and, transgender women

by, and yet her identity markers of Black and female are not reflected in the administration of in the administration are not reflected of Black and female yet her identity markers and by, for those who are unaware translator as much she serves as a cultural In a way, Whitney. the hesitation might have as for those whose aesthetic form engage with this particular of how to I wonder how paggett of racial difference. with an encounter with their discomfort more to do in her space. guards who take turns and that of the other by her presence, is impacted Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

88 Jaime Shearn Coan ing totallynondescript, talkingnaturally. room andthereispaggettherintervieweesittingatatableinthe Whitney restaurant, look- one ishere.” There isnocuethatthespeechlive, living. Iwalkdownstairstousethebath- and Iamstillinit, standingamongitstraces. Peoplewalkinandthenoutagainbecause “no the interview. Italsofeelstemporallydisorienting I feelI’meavesdroppingonanintimateconversation. ItfeelsappropriatethatIcan’treallyhear 11. 10. the textsproducedinthisspace, itisunclearwhoexactly theauthoris. What isclearthetone stopped bythedoorway;breakoccursrightinmiddle ofthewordDANCE. Likeall approximately eightfeetofftheground(ashighaspaggettcould reach), areinterruptedbutnot These words, writteninasinglefaintlineacrosstheperimeter ofthewallsgallery, around, speaksoftlyorloudlytoeachother, crinkletheirprograms, cleartheirthroats. All ofthissoundcommunicates;itmixeswiththesoundscreatedbyspectatorsastheywalk against thesidesofaplasticbucketwhilepaggettwashesoffdarkmakeupfromherface. the shatterofporcelainasitbreaksacrosswall, thebrushofbroom, thesloshofwater lighter asshelightsacandle, thegulpsassheswallowswater, thejangleofhangersonrack, through actions:theswishofherdress, thescrapeofplatesacrossstonefloor, theflickofa bodily divisions;spatial/socialarrangements” (2003:45–46). seem to, servingas: “sites ofcommunicationsnevertobereceived;ritesaffliction, tragedies, for Blacklivedexperiencethansight, wecanalsoseehowsoundscommunicatemorethanthey If weconsiderFredMoten’scontributionstounderstandingsoundasamoregenerativefield the interviewsfunctionasanimprovisedscore, assomethingthatcommunicatesbeyondwords. of protectionandprivacy. At thesametime, thespectatordoeshearher;abstractsoundof spectator tohearher(tocomprehendthecontentofspeech)feelslikeatacticexclusion, addressing anotherBlackfemaleortransgenderartist. Ononelevelthen, theinabilityof the gallery, sheismute. The onlytimesinwhichsheisaspeakingsubject, sheisaddressedand interviews arenotsemanticallyaccessibletothespectatorsingallery. While paggettisinside the Whitney isagesturethatsimultaneouslyexposessystemandpointstonewmodels. The the website. paggett’sinclusionofotherBlackfemaleandtransgenderartistsinherworkfor It issignificantthattheintervieweesarenamed, asinitiallytheywerenotmentionedatallon sonic textureoftheroom. (Whitney2014a) through adelaypedal, andamplifiedinthespacesoastobecomepartofabstract will takeplaceoffsite, theywillbetransmittedtothegallerybytelephone, processed understand theterm “Black performance.” Although theseinterviewsandotheractions Kenya Robinson, ReginaRocke, KanezaSchaal, andNi’ja Whitson abouthowthey transgender dancersandvisualartistsincludingNiv Acosta, CallieLyons, April Matthis, As partoftheresearchaspectthiswork, shewillinterviewanumberoffemaleand From thedescriptionon Whitney Biennialsite: ONLY ACT HOW IBORN TO DO. IONLY TOUCH ONLY DO WHAT INEED TO DO. IONLY CATCH WHAT IHAVE TO DO. I THE WAY ISUPPOSED TO DO. IONLY DANCE HOW I WANT TO DO. I LET’S BEHONEST, IONLY DO WHAT I WANT TO DO. IDONOT DANCE paggett’s writing, whetheronpaperorthewall, also communicates. Although paggettdoesnotspeakwhileinthegallery, shedoeshum, sing, andcreatenoises (paggett 2014c). The text of “Performance on the Eve of Negro Spring” grew over the next two days and is printed in full in the performance. wereThis description has changed considerably; not the listed interviewees until after the conclusion of 10 — the performeristalkingaboutherwork 11 TDR taisha paggett’s underwaters 89 believes in is not of underwaters underwaters of underwaters it heeds history. The we it heeds history. — . The Whitney Museum of American Art, American of Museum Whitney The . ready) is we underwatersready, is (we a counterpoint to paggett’s muteness. paggett refers to the text as a floodline (2017), paggett refers to the text as a floodline (2017), a counterpoint to paggett’s muteness.

—

This grammatical shift signaled an arrival of sorts for the fourth day, 20 April, which hap- April, 20 of sorts for the fourth day, This grammatical shift signaled an arrival having and paggett, personae remain on the rack, the costumes of the From this point on, members of paggett’s family and community and based in part on Perhaps the personae, ). The text accumu- ). is ready we is ready, (we underwaters which gives a new resonance to the title, I find Through photo documentation, performance. lates incrementally over the course of the “I”s all the paggett went around and crossed out out that on the last day of the performance, from singularity to the singular plural. shifting “WE”s, and replaced them with (paggett 2017). “queer church” paggett enacted a vision of in which pened to be Easter Sunday, shapes as her hair taking fantastic her dance at the wall, the femme persona repeats On this day, She then commences her straight up into the air. paggett leaves the ground in a series of jumps In the center of the room is a pile of clearing the air. playing her triangle, rounds of the space, around this heap of jagged white ceramic reflect- broken plates on which tea lights are burning; are arranged in concentric circles. the folding chairs ing the flickers of light, but a and white, black, changed back into her casual wear (this time not in the palette of grey, The chairs are arranged in con- mix of colorful patterns) sits in stillness with her eyes closed. her paggett remains still for some time, join her. and a few scattered spectators centric circles, tears slowly traveling from her shut eyelids arms held out straight and resting on her knees, down her cheeks and chin. are now taking up a have passed through her body one at a time over the previous three days, The we released. have flown, or perhaps they more permanent residence, static; it shifts from moment to moment of defiance, the utter disregard for spectators’ expectations. It also breaks syntactical “correct- It also breaks syntactical the utter disregard for spectators’ expectations. of defiance, the text is visible, on the wall, Written in a manner that Spillers would surely appreciate. ness,” lasting Figure 6. taisha paggett, taisha 6. Figure Golden) Christopher by (Photo 2014. geomancy: a form of divination linked to the land. Maybe there is a future worth seeing. geomancy: a form of divination linked to the land. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

90 Jaime Shearn Coan While YAMS’s andpaggett’stacticscouldbeconstruedasbinaryopposites Coda: Beyond Staying OrLeaving, Being-with *Throughout, black is used as designated by Toni Morrison in reader/spectator: rather thanbeinterviewed, asmostoftheartistsinGrabner’ssectiondo, theyinterviewthe of withdrawalalignwithpaggett’swork. The firstislocatedintheircataloguetext, where, for Black(female)nessintheartworld. Two strategiesonthepartof YAMS otherthanthat tiques that, throughcollectivemeans, makespaceandplace(bothimaginativematerial) sion toleave orthedecisionto stay dancing, performanceandvideo­ there wereliveperformancesby YAMS collective membersandtheircollaborators two eveningsatFreecandy, acreativecoworkingspace inBrooklyn. Inadditiontothescreening alternative location, outsidethepurviewof Whitney. 30May2014 On29 and YAMS hosted body uptobe “haunted” byvarioushistoricalandiconographic intersections. question: herbodybecameasitewheretheracialgazecould be interrogated;sheopenedher ” (Whitney2014c). paggett’sworkcanbeseenasoneresponsetothis “blackness” outsideofit?’ opera toposeacentralquestion: ‘What happenstotheblackbodywhenitishauntedbya Floor, isdescribedonthe Whitney’s websiteasa: “multipart filmthatreimaginesthetraditional tions visibleandexplicit. in thisimaginativeplaceisademonstrationofthepossibilitiesinherentmakingidentityposi- space bycreatingaBlackforthereader/spectatortoenter. The invitationtojoin YAMS space. Ineffect, theyarereversingtheirownpositionasBlackartistsfunctioninginawhite ists locatetheimaginedreaderindarkissignificant. Thedarkisafieldofblackness, isBlack an affectiveandproprioceptiveexperience: “How doyoufeel?” The factthatthe YAMS art- an “us” thatisapossible, future “us,” pushesthereader/spectatorbeyondabstractthoughtinto This directaddress, withitsrelianceonnotjusta “we” (thepluralfirstperson)anda “you,” but circumscribed other subjects, YAMS likewiseexpandedtheBiennial, creating aspacewhereblacknessisnot extension ofherBiennialperformance outsideofthemuseum, includingotherspaces and these events, theevents cannot bedivorcedfromthe Whitney Biennial. As such, likepaggett’s alluded tointheircatalogueessay? and agefamebutwaslargelymadeupofqueerpeople color. Isthisthespacethat YAMS events startedat8:00p.m. andwentlateintothenight. The crowdwasmixedintermsofrace and collectivemember becameless apparent. the YAMS collectivewereimmersive, nighttimespaces, whereboundaries betweenspectator space asunfinished, apoetics ofquestioning” (inMcKittrick2006:xxiii). Theeventscreatedby We’ve always feltyou, buthowdoyou encircled bythirteenblackbodies, inthedark? [...]Howdoyoufeel?feel side, andbehindyou?Canyouimaginethatarealonewithus?[...] That you’realone, Can youpretendthatwe, allthirteenofourblack*bodies, arestandinginfront, tothe to momentandforeternity, youareus? teenth blackbody, canyou, witheyesclosed, knowyourselfasoneofus?Frommoment ing questionofsafety), willyoucloseyoureyes? And ifweinvitedyoutobethefour In additionto YAMS’s openletter, theyalsopresented twoscreeningsoftheirfilminan The filmthat YAMS wasscheduledtoshowintheBiennial, GoodStock ontheDimension (in Comer, Elms, andGrabner2014:352) literary canon. Imagination (1992) [...] to refer to all of the racial bodies against which whiteness is defined in the Western While YAMS hadtechnicallyalreadywithdrawn fromthe Whitney bythetimetheyhosted And ifyoufeelsafeenough(andmaywonder, rightly, onthissharpand glitter — proposing instead, followingGlissant’s Poetics ofRelation: installations — both projectscaninfactbeframedasgenerativecri- feel? — plus afreebarandmakeshiftartgallery. The Playing intheDark: Whiteness andtheLiterary “the productionof — as thedeci- — singing, - - taisha paggett’s underwaters 91 16 November. 16 November. Good Stock on the the on Stock Good 30 May. Accessed 30 May. 20 June. Accessed 18 March Accessed 18 20 June. 6 May. Accessed 18 March 6 May. Brooklyn Rail, .” Figure 7. HOWDOYOUSAYYAMINAFRICAN?, HOWDOYOUSAYYAMINAFRICAN?, 7. Figure , 2014 (still), video, color, sound, 54 min. min. 54 sound, color, video, (still), 2014 , Opera An Floor: Dimension courtesy artists,the of (Collection HOWDOYOUSAYYAMINAFRICAN?; © Springer) of Andre London: Reaktion Books. 40, 4:519–31. 40, Journal Theatre

2017. http://brooklynrail.org/2014/05/dance/taisha-paggetts-geography-of-we. 2017. University Press. 2017. http://dancersturn5678.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-conversation-with-taisha-paggett.html. http://dancersturn5678.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-conversation-with-taisha-paggett.html. 2017. https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/the-yams-on-the-whitney-and-white 19 December 2014. -supremacy-30364. Grove Press. www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/16/whitney-biennial-2014_n_4283531 Accessed 18 March 2017. .html. http://brooklynrail.org/2014/05/art/one-step-forward Accessed 18 March 2017. 6 May. Brooklyn Rail, -two-steps-back-thoughts-about-the-donelle-woolford-debate. https://hyperallergic.com/368290. April 2017. Accessed 19 27 March. , Hyperallergic Press. , edited by Robert Gooding-Williams, 15–22. London: Routledge. 15–22. edited by Robert Gooding-Williams, King / Reading Urban Uprising, Feminist Theory.” Feminist Theory.” YAMS’s and paggett’s work work and paggett’s YAMS’s created space for Black life created space that his- within an institution been inhospita- torically has In a moment lives. ble to Black pressure is mass- when public the ing to reform if not upend anti- structures that reinforce suprem- Black racism and white contributions the acy in the US, to the YAMS of paggett and examples Whitney Biennial are Black of the creation of vibrant . spaces of being-with spaces, possibilities paggett refers to the of being inherent in this mode cata- when she writes in her “it means we have to logue essay: lean into one another in order to (2014a:231). feel” New Haven, CT: Yale Yale CT: New Haven, Whitney Biennial 2014. 2014. and Michelle Grabner. Anthony Elms, Stuart, Comer, artnet news, White Supremacy.” Whitney and on the Yams, “The 2014. Ben. Davis, Coan, Jaime Shearn. 2014. “taisha paggett’s geography of we 2014. Jaime Shearn. Coan, The MIT Press. MA: Cambridge, . Darkness Total Art in of Work 2007 How to See a Darby. English, York: New by Richard Philcox. Translated White Masks. Skin, Black (1952) 1967. Frantz. Fanon, Post, Huffington Look Like?” World Art “What Does Diversity in the 2013. Priscilla. Frank, Debate.” Woolford Thoughts about the Donelle Back? Steps Two “One Step Forward, 2014. Coco. Fusco, Till.” Must Go: On Dana Schutz’s Image of Emmett Not the Painting, “Censorship, 2017. Coco. Fusco, Arbor: University of Michigan Ann Wing. by Betsy Translated of Relation. Poetics 1997. Édouard. Glissant, Butler, Judith. 1993. “Endangered/Endangering: Schematic Racism and White Paranoia.” Reading Rodney White Paranoia.” and “Endangered/Endangering: Schematic Racism 1993. Judith. Butler, Dancer’s Turn, Conversation with taisha paggett.” “A 2013. Jaime Shearn. Coan, References 2:149–68. Theory 8, Feminist Whiteness.” Phenomenology of “A 2007. Sara. Ahmed, . Chromophobia 2000. David. Batchelor, Butler, Judith. 1988. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Acts and Gender Constitution: “Performative 1988. Judith. Butler, Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00674 by guest on 26September 2021

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