Jenny Holzer’s Powerful Gun Violence Projections Confront Rockefeller Center
Every year, a now iconic ice skating rink and giant Christmas tree move into the plaza outside of New York City’s Rockefeller Center, signaling the start of the holiday season. This year, they’ve got some company—one that might seem out of place in an atmosphere centered around holiday cheer, but at this point tragically fits into the theme of life in America. This weekend, starting at 8 p.m., the façades above the rink play host to a new series of projections by the artist Jenny Holzer, which scroll through a series of first-hand accounts and reflections upon the increasingly omnipresent phenomenon of gun violence in the United States. These texts are different than the sobering facts—like how firearms are the second leading cause of death for children and teens living in America, or how a poll last year found that 58 percent of adults has personally experienced gun violence, or cared for someone who has. They ask the questions that only survivors can ask—”I was so outraged. How do you buy a gun at 11 o’clock in the morning and shoot your wife in the afternoon?”—and remember victims by name and age. Before they fade on Sunday, read several of the excerpts that have found a more permanent home on Instagram, here.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
A view of Vigil, a series of light projections by Jenny Holzer presented by Creative Time at Rockefeller Center in New York City through October 13, 2019.
