How to Remain Human Published by Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, 2015
Texts and contributions by Rose Bouthillier, Elena Harvey Collins, Lynn Crawford, Owen Duffy, Ken Epstein, Ed Fraga, Amy Fung, Michael B. Gillespie, Ebony L. Haynes, Jae Jarrell, Harris Johnson, Jimmy Kuehnle, Indra K. Lacis, David Lusenhop, Fred Moten, Kris Paulsen, Megan Lykins Reich, Terry Schwarz, Ingrid Swanberg, Christina Vassallo, and Carmen Winant
Edited by Rose Bouthillier and Megan Lykins Reich Designed by Ryland Wharton / The Work We Do
This publication accompanied the exhibition How to Remain Human at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, featuring artists Mary Ann Aitken, Derf Backderf, Cara Benedetto, Christi Birchfield, Dadpranks, Kevin Jerome Everson, Ben Hall, Jae Jarrell, Harris Johnson, Jimmy Kuehnle, d.a. levy, Michelangelo Lovelace, Dylan Spaysky, and Carmen Winant.
The exhibition was moCa Cleveland’s second iteration of a bi-annual series featuring artists connected to Cleveland and the surrounding region, including neighbouring cities in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Bringing together emerging and established artists, some with deep histories in the region, others who have arrived from elsewhere, the goal was to reflect critically on contemporary art that comes out of, or passes through, particular places. We say particular as opposed to certain, because we did not working from a strict definition or geographical boundary. “The region” is equal parts geo-political, social, and psychological. It regularly shifts and transforms. Realization is Better than Anticipation (2013) was moCa Cleveland’s first exhibition built from this vantage point, and it generated a topology for ongoing inquiry. How to Remain Human continued the conversation with 14 artists working across a variety of media, including painting, sculpture, film and video, performance, fashion design, sound, and architectural installation. They share a need to make, in order to question, clarify, or understand life. Exploring various ways of acting in and experiencing the world, they propose how we can go on, relate, and be.
