Ishmael in the Garden: A Portrait of Ishmael Houston-Jones, 2018

Adam Pendleton’s video portrait focuses on the life of the choreographer renowned for his collaborative and improvised dances, including Cowboys, Dreams and Ladders (1984), THEM (1985, 2010–13), and Variations on Themes from Lost and Found: Scenes from a Life and other works by John Bernd (2018). The montage of Pendleton’s film breaks up the traditional chronological linearity of biography and mirrors his approach to producing prints and paintings. Ishmael in the Garden questions certain modes of representation, from the personal history of Ishmael to broader concepts of authorship and the veracity of the image that can be seen in the broader context of Pendleton’s practice.

Adam Pendleton (born 1984 in Richmond, Virginia) is recognized for his conceptual practice, centered around linguistic and visual communication with varying degrees of legibility that create thought-provoking presentations. Often referencing artistic and political movements, he appropriates and reconfigures images and texts to critically examine the resonance of ideas from varied perspectives. Pendelton lives and works in the Bronx, New York.

Access the Audio Guide by Magalí Arriola.