Temple Exercises
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
January 6 – February 1, 2009
BackPress Release
Theaster Gates’s Temple Exercises is a series of exercises that occur both at the MCA and around the city. Exploring the relationships among art, politics, and race, Theaster Gates constructs a temple-like structure that merges aspects of African-American and Japanese traditions. Gates’s construction also serves as a contemplative space meant to inspire dialogue across philosophical and cultural boundaries on topics ranging from politics and religion to culture, food, and art as well as a performative space for the Black Monks of Mississippi, a group of Baptist-Buddhist musicians who mix slave spirituals, monastic chants, and jazz to create a singular sonorous experience.
Selected Works
Temple Exercises Performances. Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2009. Photo: Sara Pooley.
Temple Exercises Performances. Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2009. Photo: Sara Pooley.
Temple Exercises Performances. Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2009. Photo: Sara Pooley.
Temple Exercises Performances. Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2009. Photo: Sara Pooley.
Temple Exercises Performances. Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2009. Photo: Sara Pooley.
Temple Exercises Performances. Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2009. Photo: Sara Pooley.
Temple Exercises Performances. Courtesy of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, 2009. Photo: Sara Pooley.