Prisoner of Love

Featured images

The words "DEATH," "LOVE," "HATE," "PLEASURE," "PAIN," and "LIFE" appear in illuminated neon, organized in a circle against a black background. In order, their colors are orange, purple, pink, green, and blue. — Bruce Nauman, *Life, Death, Love, Hate, Pleasure, Pain*, 1983. Neon; diameter: 70 7/8 in. (180 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Gerald S. Elliott Collection, 1995.74. © 2018 Bruce Nauman/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Photo: Nathan Keay, © MCA Chicago

A dark-skinned woman with her hair and makeup done wears a sleeveless wedding dress with a long train, held by another person behind her. She holds up the dress and looks down toward the path ahead of her. — Arthur Jafa, *Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death*, 2016. Video (color, sound); 7 minutes, 25 seconds. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, anonymous gift to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2017.34
Image courtesy of Arthur Jafa and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/Rome

Short What appears to be a film still of a police or SWAT van on a street at night is watermarked with a Getty Images logo. People are walking on the street and emptying out the back of the van.

Arthur Jafa, Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death, 2016. Video (color, sound); 7 minutes, 25 seconds. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, anonymous gift to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, 2017.34
Image courtesy of Arthur Jafa and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York/Rome

Kerry James Marshall, *Souvenir I*, 1997. Acrylic and glitter on canvas banner; 108 × 157 in. (274.3 × 398.8 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Bernice and Kenneth Newberger Fund, 1997.73. © 1997 Kerry James Marshall
Photo: Joe Ziolkowski, © MCA Chicago

In a black-and-white triptych, the silhouette of a woman is visible holding a cigarette and looking out a doorway. In the second photo, a man appears at the door, and in the third, the silhouetted man and woman embrace. — Carrie Mae Weems, *Untitled (Black Love)*, 1992. Silver prints; three parts, each framed: 28 5/16 × 28 5/16 in. (71.9 × 71.9 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Jack and Sandra Guthman, 2016.57.a–c. © Carrie Mae Weems. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York

In this photo, a young, dark-skinned man holds a very young baby to his chest in what appears to be the living room of a home. — Deana Lawson, *Sons of Cush*, 2016. Ink-jet print mounted on Sintra; framed: 44 × 55 ¼ in. Courtesy of the artist and Rhona Hoffman Gallery

Glenn Ligon, *Untitled (Study #1 for Prisoner of Love)*, 1992. Oil and gesso on canvas; 30 ½ x 20 in. (77.5 × 50.8 cm). Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, gift of Sandra P. and Jack Guthman, 2000.11. © Glenn Ligon 1992/Regen Projects, Los Angeles
Photo © MCA Chicago

A detailed painting shows the implied forms of various human figures depicted in shades of brown and dark blue, with accents of green, yellow, maroon, and white. — Michael Armitage, *The Flaying of Marsyas*, 2017. Oil on Lubugo bark cloth; 92 ½ x 96 7/8 × 1 9/16 in. (235 × 246 × 4 cm). © Michael Armitage
Photo © White Cube (Ben Westoby)

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About the exhibition

Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death, by acclaimed artist and filmmaker Arthur Jafa, is a multilayered seven-minute montage about the experience of living in the United States. The video tells a story of trauma and transcendence in a flurry of footage—from historic speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama, to clips of cultural icons Beyoncé and Notorious B.I.G., to flashes of concerts, home movies, news footage, music videos, and sports matches—all set to a soaring gospel-inspired anthem.

Centered around this filmic journey, the exhibition features a rotating body of work from the MCA's collection inspired by the titular themes in Bruce Nauman's iconic neon Life, Death, Love, Hate, Pleasure, Pain. The work's title establishes the themes of three rotating groups of artwork in the exhibition’s final gallery: life and death, love and hate, and pleasure and pain. Powerful, moving works by artists such as Deana Lawson, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Carrie Mae Weems alternate throughout the run of the show.

The exhibition is curated by Naomi Beckwith, Manilow Senior Curator. It is presented in the Sylvia Neil and Daniel Fischel Galleries on the museum's second floor.

Text

The artists featured in the non-rotating galleries of Prisoner of Love include:

Lynda Benglis (American, b. 1941)
David Hammons (American, b. 1943)
Arthur Jafa (American, b. 1960)
Glenn Ligon (American, b. 1960)
Bruce Nauman (American, b. 1941)

The artists featured throughout the run of the exhibition include:

Life and Death, on view from January 26-April 28
Edgar Arceneaux (American, b. 1972)
Melvin Edwards (American, b. 1937)
Christian Marclay (American, b. 1955)
Kerry James Marshall (American, b. 1955)
Catherine Opie (American, b. 1961)
Naudline Pierre (American, b. 1989)
Doris Salcedo (Colombian, b. 1958)
Gary Simmons (American, b. 1964)

Love and Hate, on view from May 4-July 28
Mark Bradford (American, b. 1969)
Jasper Johns (American, b. 1930)
Deana Lawson (American, b. 1979)
Pope.L (American, b. 1955)
Carrie Mae Weems (American, b. 1953)

Pleasure and Pain, on view from August 3-October 20
Michael Armitage (Kenyan, b. 1984)
Noah Davis (American, 1983-2015)
Leslie Hewitt (American, b. 1977)
Arthur Jafa (American, b. 1960)
Robert Mapplethorpe (American, 1946-1989)
Bruce Nauman (American, b. 1941)
Paul Mpagi Sepuya (American, b. 1982)