CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Autumn Knight, whose performance art investigates perceptions of race, gender and authority, is the focus of a new book published by Krannert Art Museum in collaboration with Project Row Houses, a community arts development in Houston. Knight is one of 76 American artists recently selected for the 2019 Whitney Biennial, a leading exhibition of contemporary art at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. She presented her first solo museum presentation at KAM in 2017.
“Autumn Knight: In Rehearsal” is the first comprehensive publication on Knight’s work, with essays and documentation of Knight’s performances at KAM and Project Row Houses, where she had an exhibition in 2012-13. Knight returns to the U. of I. in April to launch the book with a performance and book conversation.
Knight will perform “Documents” at 7:30 p.m. April 4 at KAM. This performance involves the audience in considering the types of documentation that identify who we are. Do documents reflect our race, class, and gender? Do they accurately reflect the people they represent – and to whom?
At 2 p.m. April 5, Knight will discuss “Autumn Knight: In Rehearsal” with the book’s editor and contributor, Amy L. Powell, the curator of modern and contemporary art at KAM, and performance studies scholar Sandra Ruiz, a professor of Latina/Latino studies and English at Illinois. After the discussion, Knight will speak with visitors and sign copies of the book, which is available at the museum and online.
A central thread in Knight’s exhibition at the U. of I. and in her body of work as a whole are questions of expectations of authority. In an institutional venue like a museum or a university campus, what happens when a black woman is the authority figure? On campus, Knight cultivated collaborations with black women and sought out audiences of women of color.
Presenting “Autumn Knight: In Rehearsal” in book form makes it possible to share with wider audiences who haven’t seen her work live, and it adds to conversations about contemporary art and performance as a medium, Powell said.
In addition to photographs of the performances, the book reproduces Knight’s performance scores and research notes. It also contains essays by Powell and Ruiz, as well as Ryan Dennis, the curator and programs director at Project Row Houses; and Jennifer Doyle, an English professor at the University of California, Riverside whose research includes visual and performance studies; and a conversation between Knight and choreographer and Illinois dance professor Cynthia Oliver, in which the two discuss their influences and their support networks.
Ruiz’s essay in the book is about Knight’s 2 1/2-hour performance at KAM of “Here and Now,” an examination of the dynamics of group behavior designed to reveal unconscious feelings and biases. Ruiz called the work uncomfortable and difficult, “like a drawn-out social experiment turned psychological thriller,” but also transformative.
“We thought we were there to watch her, but she was really watching us,” Ruiz said.
Oliver saw Knight’s 2017 performances on campus, and the two later had a long conversation – documented in the book – about the creative process and how each of them works, and about choreography, movement and improvisation.
“She’s always questioning the boundaries of performance – what we are thinking about, what we bring into the room, how we are thinking of our own position in terms of what is before us, how are we complicit in some of the structures that we critique or are a part of,” Oliver said.
“She is immensely disarming, really smart and quick. She can deliver thoughts that are really insightful and funny, sometimes biting, sometimes touching, all in one fell swoop,” Oliver continued. “She is really responsive, in the moment, attuned and really sensitive. I admire someone who can really quickly and concisely determine what a moment needs.”
Knight also shares a director’s credit on a new performance art film, “When I Get Home” by Solange Knowles, which is associated with Knowles’ new album.
“The book is really well-timed for broader audiences to get to know Autumn Knight’s work. We want to make sure that when people talk about contemporary art and performance and about black women performance artists, they know how Autumn is expanding the conversation,” Powell said.
Knight’s appearance April 4-5 at KAM launches her national book tour. Other tour events include Project Row Houses, Houston (April 16), Independent Curators International, New York City, with presenting partner Denniston Hill (May 23) and Gavin Brown’s Enterprise organized by the Studio Museum in Harlem (May 30).