THE PAST ISN’T PAST

Three artists featured in Greater New York discuss the documentary impulse

Writing

“Knowledge and stories often do not enter into an official archive or history, and so they seem to disappear to some. We’re devoted to surfacing the ways in which they have not disappeared and how they can be brought back to life, like a resurrection process: research as resurrection.”- Shanzhai Lyric

Greater New York artists Shanzhai Lyric, BlackMass Publishing, and Hiram Maristany sat down to discuss one of the themes that run through the show: the importance of documentary and archival methods. Read the full roundtable discussion in the MoMA magazine. It’s just one of the roundtable conversations between artists in the exhibition, all of which are now available in the Greater New York catalogue, available for purchase through Artbook @ MoMA PS1.

MoMA Magazine

Read the full conversation

Artworks

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Hiram Maristany. Juan Gonzalez at the original headquarters of the Young Lords Party in East Harlem. 1969. Photograph. Image courtesy the artist

Shanzhai Lyric. Canal Street Research Association (storage). 2021. Mixed media. Dimensions variable. Courtesy the artists.

Noel Woodford

Installation view of work by BlackMass Publishing in exhibition Greater New York 2021 on view at MoMA PS1 from October 7, 2021 to April 18, 2022. Image courtesy MoMA PS1.

Martin Seck

Installation view of Shanzhai Lyric, Incomplete Poem (2015-ongoing) in Greater New York 2021 on view at MoMA PS1 from October 7, 2021 to April 18, 2022. Image courtesy MoMA PS1.

Marissa Alper

Hiram Maristany. Children in the funeral march of Julio Roldán. 1970. Photograph. Image courtesy the artist

Installation view of work by BlackMass Publishing in exhibition Greater New York 2021 on view at MoMA PS1 from October 7, 2021 to April 18, 2022. Image courtesy MoMA PS1.

Martin Seck

Since this conversation, we have been saddened by the passing of Maristany, a legendary documentary photographer and key figure in the struggle for civil rights in our city. We hope this conversation will serve as a tribute to Maristany’s lifelong commitment to supporting young artists and fostering social change through his art.