Crying is a video from the series Stills Made in Museums which stages the behavioral rules that derive from the strange constructs which "protect" and "exhibit" art. Museum Stills explores both extremes of this behaviour, from the over-identification and even psychological breakdown that can occur in front of works of art to the practiced performance of indifference in the interstitial stairways and corners of these colossal institutions.
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"In Crying a kneeling man clasps his hands in a gallery of religious paintings, tears running down his cheeks. The artwork of his gaze is not visible, but his melodramatic response is unmistakably evident. Is he offering a prayer or just resting his hands? Is he moved by the religious iconography or the beauty of the painting? Are the tears joyful or sad? Whatever the case, the man's unleashed sentiments overwhelm museal disinterestedness and flood the room with emotion. Such a spectacle of crying recognizes that artworks exist as more than just formal compositions or exemplars of art historical styles; they can also evoke unpredictable feelings. This still confirms the efficacy of the face, as Deleuze suggests, as the prime vehicle of conveying affect."
DROBNICK, Jim and Jennifer FISHER. "Museum vivants", Adad Hannah: Video Projects. Seoul, 2006, p. 12 [http://adadhannah.com/images/uploads/press_assets/2006_10_07_Ssamzie_Catalog.pdf] (Consulted on June 10th 2011)
Art, Museum, Social Identity, Psychology, Institutions, Crying, Connection, Tableaux Vivants
