akingdoncomethas
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Object Label
Arthur Jafa’s akingdoncomethas is composed of a series of clips, sourced from the internet, of pastors delivering sermons as well as singers and choirs performing gospel songs for their respective congregations. Jafa uses light editing to isolate shared narratives and performative gestures. The film portrays a culture of deep faith, healing, and perseverance that offers messages of resistance and staying the course. Through Jafa’s sequencing, the viewer gets a sense of the ethics of the Black Christian (Pentecostal) church as well as its aesthetics—the undulation of voices, the slow-build tempo of testimony, the wail, the scream, and mellow moments of reflection. The viewer is left with an awareness of not only what constitutes a church program but also how it feels—and a sense that perhaps it is this feeling that matters most.
Caption
Arthur Jafa American, born 1960. akingdoncomethas, 2018. Video, color, sound, 1 hour 41 minutes. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2018.22. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2018.22_view01_SC.jpg)
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Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
akingdoncomethas
Date
2018
Medium
Video, color, sound, 1 hour 41 minutes
Classification
Credit Line
Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund
Accession Number
2018.22
Rights
© artist or artist's estate
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