It’s a Subtle Move to Destroy a Society
2026
Size: H103” x W59.5” x D6”
This sculpture with sound component replicates the doors found in the Committee Hearing rooms in the Capitol. When viewers approach the door, they see a dark void behind the cracked-open door, and they hear a woman whispering from behind it. The whispering is a reenactment of a speech that artist Robert Rauschenberg gave in testimony against United States Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork on Sept. 22, 1987. Bork’s views on freedom of speech were considered dangerous by many artists and writers. Rauschenberg’s warnings against appointing a Justice with “a compulsive insistence on the letter of the law [and] abuse to the exceptional and the minorities” rings true nearly 40 years later. The work reflects some present day reckonings: Deals are struck behind closed doors. Despite attempts to shut it out, history circulates through oral testimony and will not be forgotten. Beauty is illusive under fascism, which prefers an ugly strong man. When images are used against us, other senses prevail. This work was completed with the support of an Archives Research Residency at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and a Humanities and Arts Grant from the Office for the Vice President of Research at Temple University.
2026
Size: H103” x W59.5” x D6”
This sculpture with sound component replicates the doors found in the Committee Hearing rooms in the Capitol. When viewers approach the door, they see a dark void behind the cracked-open door, and they hear a woman whispering from behind it. The whispering is a reenactment of a speech that artist Robert Rauschenberg gave in testimony against United States Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork on Sept. 22, 1987. Bork’s views on freedom of speech were considered dangerous by many artists and writers. Rauschenberg’s warnings against appointing a Justice with “a compulsive insistence on the letter of the law [and] abuse to the exceptional and the minorities” rings true nearly 40 years later. The work reflects some present day reckonings: Deals are struck behind closed doors. Despite attempts to shut it out, history circulates through oral testimony and will not be forgotten. Beauty is illusive under fascism, which prefers an ugly strong man. When images are used against us, other senses prevail. This work was completed with the support of an Archives Research Residency at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and a Humanities and Arts Grant from the Office for the Vice President of Research at Temple University.
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