22 Jan 92 Americans. Every Day. A Project About Gun Violence in America by Marisa Gonzales Silverstein
On view January 22–March 5, 2017
A cut paper work from Marisa Gonzales Silverstein’s project 92 Americans. Every Day. Courtesy of the artist.
Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collection and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale are pleased to announce the exhibition 92 Americans. Every Day., a project about gun violence in America by Marisa Gonzales Silverstein. The exhibition will be on view from January 22–March 5, 2017.
For 200 days—every day from October 5, 2015, to April 21, 2016—Gonzales Silverstein created unique designs using 92 carefully folded, cut, and glued black paper triangles, each representing one of the 92 Americans killed every day by gun violence. Each day, these designs were posted on Facebook and Instagram. During this period, some 18,400 lives were lost.
A cut paper work from Marisa Gonzales Silverstein’s project 92 Americans. Every Day. Courtesy of the artist.
Gonzales Silverstein began the project after the mass shooting in October 2015 at Umpqua Community College in Oregon. “I was weary of hearing about yet another shooting in our country,” she said. “I was spurred to find a way to represent visually the sheer number of victims of gun violence in our country. I wanted to see what 92 looked like. Every day.”
She felt a need “to represent and honor each of the 92 Americans who are killed by gun violence every day, to show the scale and incessant nature of American gun violence, to remind people that this happens every day in our country even when the latest shooting fades from our memory.” Describing her work, she explained: “Sometimes the pieces look like bullets, sometimes tally marks. Sometimes a pattern is chaotic, sometimes it is more meditative. Each day as I make these designs, I am overwhelmed by the number of little black triangles. They are our sons and daughters, our sisters and brothers, our mothers and fathers, our aunts and uncles. My hope is that this series will spur people to demand a change. We just can’t go on like this this.” See more at www.92Americans-everyday.com.
A cut paper work from Marisa Gonzales Silverstein’s project 92 Americans. Every Day. Courtesy of the artist.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Marisa Gonzales Silverstein is a paper and mosaic artist. Folded paper and mosaic are, at first glance, quite distinct media and processes. Yet they both play with pattern and repetition, geometry and rhythm. Pieces come together, often unexpectedly, to form a puzzle. Light and shadow interact to create a deeper, more complex image. Gonzales Silverstein’s work in paper and mosaic is mathematical and meditative. It allows the artist to nurture herself and others.
Gonzales Silverstein received a BA in Art History from Yale College in 1992 and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 1999. She spent years leading after school programs in the arts for teenagers, contracting with accomplished artists to lead vibrant programs before turning full time to being an artist herself.
In 2016, just three years after beginning her work as an artist, Marisa received a Fellowship in Photography from the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) for her “92 Americans. Every day.” series. For more information, visit https://www.marisagsilverstein.com
As a member of the American Alliance of Museums, the Hebrew Home at Riverdale by RiverSpring Health is committed to publicly exhibiting its art collection throughout its 32-acre campus, including Derfner Judaica Museum and a sculpture garden overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades. Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collection provide educational and cultural programming for all visitors, including residents of the Hebrew Home, their families, and the general public, who come from throughout New York City, its surrounding suburbs, and elsewhere. RiverSpring Health is a nonprofit, non-sectarian geriatric organization serving more than 12,000 older adults through its resources and community service programs. Museum hours: Sunday–Thursday, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Art Collection and grounds open daily, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Call 718 581.1596 for holiday hours or to schedule group tours.
This exhibition is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
