Image

RISDM 2017-19-4.tif

Assume vivid astro focus

The ecstasy of pope benedict (curtain)

Description

Maker

assume vivid astro focus (American, founded 2001)

Title

The ecstasy of pope benedict (curtain)

Year

2005

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

228.6 x 92.4 x 1.3 cm (90 x 36 3/8 x 1/2 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Avo Samuelian and Hector Manuel Gonzalez

Object Number

2017.19.4

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

The Phantom of Liberty
Contemporary Works in the RISD Museum Collection
May 04, 2018 – Dec 30, 2018

Label copy

We had the pope chain curtain . . . at the entrance of our [disco-themed installation]. That year the previous pope, Benedict XVI, had affirmed that homosexuality was a serious sin comparable to rape. For this reason we decided to create a chain curtain (the material also relating to self-repenting Christian practices) with an image of a saluting pope being attacked by an upside-down rainbow triangle.

This installation was an homage to the history of clubs and dance music and their close relationship to the birth of gay rights, at least in America. Clubs were not just simply hedonistic heavens, but spaces for unity within that community. -assume vivid astro focus

Part of homocrap #1, a multimedia installation featured in Ecstasy: In and About Altered States Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2005-2006

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Tombstone

assume vivid astro focus (American, founded 2001)
The ecstasy of pope benedict (curtain), 2005
Anodized aluminum
228.6 x 92.4 x 1.3 cm (90 x 36 3/8 x 1/2 inches)
Gift of Avo Samuelian and Hector Manuel Gonzalez 2017.19.4

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