On the Cover
Wilmer Wilson IV, From My Paper Bag Colored Heart, 2012. View of performance at Conner Contemporary Art, Washington, DC. Photo: © Wilmer Wilson IV, Courtesy CONNERSMITH, Washington, DC.
From the Executive Director
The artists in this issue use performance as a tool to explore personal identity and as a weapon in a larger fight for social justice. In the work of Wilmer Wilson IV, Ursula Johnson, Kevin Beasley, and Jefferson Pinder, the body becomes a material–a living sculpture to be directed and manipulated into forms that re-examine human relations. Abigail DeVille, who sets sculptural objects loose in public situations, and Jennifer Wen Ma, who uses moving sculptures as a foil for narrative staging, both add a theatrical flair. For all of these artists, history serves as an important collaborator; and for many of them, sound is equally essential. Their works may educate, but what matters is the intimacy–the transfer of action and, by extension, of empathy–that results from multi-sensory points of contact.
As we open a new chapter in the history of the ISC, we will continue to build on the legacy of retired Executive Editor Glenn Harper. We are excited to announce that Daniel Kunitz is joining the organization as the new Executive Editor. He comes to the ISC at an exciting time, when we are looking to change how we communicate with readers and members and embracing the challenges of an everchanging publications landscape.
If you’re traveling over these summer months, don’t forget to visit the ISC’s worldwide directory of sculpture parks and gardens on the Web site; you can also find a selection of parks worth visiting in this issue, beginning on page 56.
–Johannah Hutchison, ISC Executive Director
