JG: How does the question, “Is there racism in heaven?” connect to the show’s title, Until?
NC: The title comes from the phrases “innocent until proven guilty” or “guilty until proven innocent.” Both are linked to police brutality in America. This morning, the Chicago crime stats came out for the month of October. Seventy-two people were shot and killed in October. Five hundred eighty-two people have been killed so far this year. I feel called to action, and I’m trying to find a way, as a visual artist with a specific sense of responsibility, to be proactive. How can I create a project that will reach hundreds of thousands of people and raise their level of consciousness about these issues?
READ MORE from my interview with the artist Nick Cave in the "Momentum" issue of the Art21 Magazine here.
Nick Cave, Until (2016) installation view, MASS MoCA. Photo by James Prinz, courtesy of MASS MoCA