by Steve Litt (Excerpt)

The primary exhibition transforms a large portiion of Spaces into an eerie collection of glowing screens resembling large, black and white televisions. The installation is the work of X-PRZ, which Spaces describes as "a biracial art band," whose members live in New York and Boston.

Titled "JST BCZ UR PARANOID DNT THNK THYR NT AFTR U," the work consists of a series of lightboxes with illuminated photographs, as well as a video monitor and a large video projection screen.

The lightboxes display police mugshots of Malcolm X, a photo of Los Angeles burning after the 1992 riots, a hovering helicopter, a minimalist floor sculpture by artist Carl Andre, Malcolm X's New York house after it was bombed, and slivers of the black leader's face. None of the images are labeled, so it's up to you to figure out what it all means.

This amounts to a visual IQ test for viewers. If you can identify the images, you can begin to speculate on their meaning in relation to Malcolm X. If you can't, you're out of luck. Primarily, the piece succeeds in creating a brooding, vaguely portentous atmosphere.

(A note from X-PRZ: It's not an IQ test. Knowing the sources of the images does not help to construct a 'correct' reading of the materials. All readings are always, already speculative and limited by the viewer's knowledge or interests. We do not pretend to authority or correctness, so why must the viewer desire that position? )

Installation View

In strictly visual terms, the most effective part of the X-PRZ display is a series of lightboxes arranged in the shape of a cross, with diagrams of slave ships filling each section of the cross. The juxtaposition of a Christian symbol with images of black slaves subjugated by a predominantly Christian nation is powerfully disturbing, and right in line with Malcolm X's eviscerating views on American history.

The centerpiece of the X-PRZ installation is a large video projection screen, filled with a melange of images including a burning cross, flying birds, and slivers of Malcolm X's face. The soundtrack includes segments of speeches by Malcolm X, which are the most powerful elements in the entire X-PRZ installation. In this case, you wish you got more Malcolm X and less art.

(Another note from X-PRZ: The projection screen is also a mirror. Obviously, this viewer wanted a more documentary approach than we were interested in providing. He sees some of the connections and contradictions between the forms and contents we juxtaposed. However, his own expectations and desires render other possibilities illegible and invalid. Another viewer might find connections that we did not intend based on their own construction and desire. Perhaps this is as it should be.)

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