"Riddle of the Sphinx" is the latest incarnation of Blanche Bruce & Terry Adkins’ ongoing cycle of site-inspired recitals on the abolitionist John Brown. Commemorating the 151st anniversary of his Harper’s Ferry, Virginia campaign, the duration of this recital coincides with the inception of Brown’s October 16th, 1859 raid on a U.S. armory through to his capture execution on that December 2nd at Charlestown. Adkins and collaborator Blanche Bruce explore aspects of John Brown as shepherd, soldier, martyr, and prophet through a muscular communion of video, sculpture, drawings, artifacts and ceremony. "Riddle of the Sphinx" is so named after a chapter in W.E.B. DuBois’ 1909 biography on Brown and the artists Bruce and Adkins have responded specifically to the titanic views and research contained therein.
Terry Adkins and Blanche Bruce are a collaborative that has worked together since 1999, upholding the legacies of immortal figures of the past by reinserting them to their rightful place in the contemporary historical landscape. Under the auspices of the Lone Wolf Recital Corps, their recitals are multimedia events that rely on the potential disclosure of biography, reclaimed materials and recovered actions. He and Blanche Bruce have performed at the Romanian Academy in Rome, The New Museum, P.S.1 MOMA, Black Box Amsterdam, and Project Row Houses in Houston. Terry Adkins was Rome Prize Fellow in Visual Arts in 2009. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden among others.
Opening Reception: Friday, October 22nd, 6:00 - 9:00pm
Exhibition Dates: October 16th - December 2nd
Vigil Ceremony by the Lone Wolf Recital Corps: Thursday, December 2nd, 6:00 - 9:00pm
Amistad Gallery
W.E.B. Dubois College House
3900 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Amistad Gallery Hours: 10:00am - 8:00pm Daily
Terry Adkins, Gallery Director
tadkins@design.upenn.edu
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