Lorna Simpson, still from Chess, 2013. 3-channel HD video, black and white, sound, looped; 10:19 min. Edition of 3, with 1 AP. © Lorna Simpson. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Jason Moran
Sept 20, 2019–Jan 5, 2020
Performance Series
The boundary-bursting artist Jason Moran (b. 1975) grounds his practice in the composition of jazz, bridging the visual and performing arts through spellbinding stagecraft. Heralded as one of the country’s leading jazz innovators, Moran transmutes his personal experience of the world into dynamic musical compositions that challenge the formal conventions of the medium. His experimental approach to art-making embraces the intersection of objects and sound, pushing beyond the traditional in ways that are inherently theatrical.
This exhibition—the artist’s first solo museum show—presents the range of work Moran has explored, from his own sculptures and drawings to collaborations with visual artists to performances. Among the many artists with whom Moran has collaborated are Joan Jonas, Kara Walker, Lorna Simpson, Glenn Ligon, Stan Douglas, Carrie Mae Weems, Adam Pendleton, Theaster Gates, Julie Mehretu, Ryan Trecartin, and Lizzie Fitch. Originating in Minneapolis at the Walker Art Center in the spring of 2018, the show has traveled to the ICA Boston and the Wexner Center before its final stop at the Whitney. This grand finale in Moran's hometown of New York City will feature many performances by renowned jazz musicians and new live adaptations of works made with his most significant artistic collaborators.
Jason Moran is organized by the Walker Art Center, and curated by Adrienne Edwards with Danielle A. Jackson. The Whitney’s presentation is overseen by Adrienne Edwards, the Engell Speyer Family Curator and Curator of Performance, with Clémence White, senior curatorial assistant.
The exhibition is made possible with the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Piano by Steinway & Sons.
In New York, the exhibition is sponsored by
Generous support for Jason Moran is provided by Erin and Peter Friedland, The Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, and public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Significant support is provided by Chip and Burwell Schorr, Norman and Melissa Selby, and the Joyce and George Wein Foundation.
Additional support is provided by Lisa and Dick Cashin.
Installation Photography
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Projections: Lorna Simpson, Chess, 2013. Stages from left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018; Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Projections: Kara Walker, National Archives Microfilm M999 Roll 34: Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands: Six Miles from Springfield on the Franklin Road, 2009. Stages from left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018; Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Projection: Kara Walker, National Archives Microfilm M999 Roll 34: Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands: Six Miles from Springfield on the Franklin Road, 2009. Stages from left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Three Deuces, 2015; Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Projections: Kara Walker, National Archives Microfilm M999 Roll 34: Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands: Six Miles from Springfield on the Franklin Road, 2009. Stages from left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018; Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Projections: Carrie Mae Weems, Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me—A Story in 5 Parts, 2012. Stages from left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018; Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018; Joan Jonas and Jason Moran, Antiphony: Joan Jonas x Jason Moran, 2013; Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018; Joan Jonas and Jason Moran, Antiphony: Joan Jonas x Jason Moran, 2013; Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018; Theaster Gates and Jason Moran and The Bandwagon (Tarus Mateen and Nasheet Waits), Looks of a Lot, 2014; Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Theaster Gates and Jason Moran and The Bandwagon (Tarus Mateen and Nasheet Waits), Looks of a Lot, 2014; Jason Moran, STAGED: Three Deuces, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Julie Mehretu and Jason Moran, MASS (HOWL, eon), 2017; Jason Moran, STAGED: Three Deuces, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Julie Mehretu and Jason Moran, MASS (HOWL, eon), 2017. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Julie Mehretu and Jason Moran, MASS (HOWL, eon), 2017. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Jason Moran and The Bandwagon (Tarus Mateen and Nasheet Waits) with Alicia Hall Moran and Adrian Piper, Milestone, 2005 and 2007. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Joan Jonas and Jason Moran, Antiphony: Joan Jonas x Jason Moran, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Joan Jonas and Jason Moran, Antiphony: Joan Jonas x Jason Moran, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Projections: Kara Walker, National Archives Microfilm M999 Roll 34: Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands: Six Miles from Springfield on the Franklin Road, 2009. Stages from left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Jason Moran, STAGED: Three Deuces, 2015. Front: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Projections: Carrie Mae Weems, Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me—A Story in 5 Parts, 2012. Stages from left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Jason Moran, STAGED: Three Deuces, 2015. Front: Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Jason Moran, STAGED: Three Deuces, 2015; Carrie Mae Weems, Lincoln, Lonnie, and Me—A Story in 5 Parts, 2012. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015; Jason Moran, STAGED: Three Deuces, 2015; Joan Jonas, They Come to Us without a Word II, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Jason Moran, STAGED: Slugs’ Saloon, 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019–January 5, 2020). Jason Moran, STAGED: Three Deuces, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Jason Moran, STAGED: Savoy Ballroom 1, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Stan Douglas, Luanda-Kinshasa, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Stan Douglas, Luanda-Kinshasa, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Stan Douglas, Luanda-Kinshasa, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Stan Douglas, Luanda-Kinshasa, 2013. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, Run 2, 2016; Jason Moran, Run 6, 2016; Jason Moran, Strutter’s Ball, 2016; Jason Moran, Blue (Creed) Gravity 1, 2018; Jason Moran, Black and Blue Gravity, 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, Black Run, 2018; Jason Moran, Between State 1, 2019; Jason Moran, Chorus 1, 2019. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, Two Wings 2, 2019; Jason Moran, Between State 3, 2019. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, WINDS, 2015; Jason Moran, Trade Winds, 2015; Jason Moran, Untitled, 215; Jason Moran, Between the World and Me, 2018. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, Looks of a Lot, 2014; Jason Moran, She Cares—Hill, 2016; Jason Moran, She Cares—Slang, 2016. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, Fourth band member, c. 1990; Jason Moran, Cue sheets from Milestone, 2005; Jason Moran, The Death of Tom, 2011. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Installation view of Jason Moran (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, September 20, 2019-January 5, 2020). From left to right: Jason Moran, Run 2, 2016; Jason Moran, Run 6, 2016; Jason Moran, Strutter’s Ball, 2016; Jason Moran, Blue (Creed) Gravity 1, 2018; Jason Moran, Black and Blue Gravity, 2018; Jason Moran, Black Run, 2018; Jason Moran, Between State 1, 2019; Jason Moran, Chorus 1, 2019; Jason Moran, Two Wings 2, 2019; Jason Moran, Between State 3, 2019; Glenn Ligon, The Death of Tom, 2008. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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“There’s a sense of movement and evocative purpose to everything [Jason Moran] does.” —Observer
“Jason Moran’s Jazz Journey at the Whitney Upends Space and Time” —The New York Times