A Midsummer Night’s Dream XVI (after William Shakespeare), South Bronx—Norfolk, Virginia
Artist
Tim Rollins
(American, 1955 - 2017)
Artist
K.O.S. (Kids of Survival)
(founded 1982)
CultureAmerican
Date2000-2001
MediumWatercolor, India ink, metallic ink, fruit juice, aqaba paper, collage, polyethylene body glitter, mustard seed, xerography, and rag paper on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 42 x 46 in. (106.7 x 116.8 cm)
InscribedVerso: signed K.O.S.
Credit LinePurchase; created at the Chrysler Museum of Art by Tim Rollins and K.O.S. with Kate Bosse, Mark Elfane, Jonathan Hund, Nathaniel Jorge, Emi Komatsuzaki, Eric Larkin, Jonathan Melton, Natalie Murphy, Amanda Nicolas, Anthony Owens, José Reyes, Dan Richard, Chris Richardson, Naomi Scully, Jared Sosa, Robert Stone, Ramises Tamondong, Keith Williamson, and Kathryn Wright
Object number2001.10
Not on view
DescriptionA Midsummer Night's Dream XVI is a mixed media work. It begins with a ground of xerographed pages from the play, which are superimposed by collaged elements and mounted on rag paper on canvas. The overall patterning of the vibrant, collaged flowers is highlighted with mixed media materials and a single mustard seed.Label TextTim Rollins American (b. 1955) and K.O.S. [Kids of Survival], active 1984–present A Midsummer Night’s Dream XVI (after William Shakespeare), South Bronx—Norfolk, Virginia, 2000–01 Watercolor, India ink, metallic ink, fruit juice, aqaba paper, collage, polyethylene body glitter, mustard seed, xerography, and rag paper on canvas 2001.10 In 1982, Tim Rollins founded Kids of Survival with twenty-five at-risk students from Intermediate School 52 in the South Bronx. Together, they developed a strategy that combined reading and writing with the creation of art. In a process they called “jamming,” Rollins and his students discussed the themes of a particular text and subsequently created a work of art inspired by it. In 1987, they expanded their reach to areas outside of the Bronx. Today, there are active K.O.S. members in Philadelphia, Memphis, and San Francisco. On October 4, 2000, twenty-five high school students from Norfolk and Virginia Beach participated in a community-based workshop with Tim Rollins. After studying excerpts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and scenes from a film based on the play, the students made interpretations of the magical, love-inducing flowers. Rollins took one flower by each student to the K.O.S. studio to be incorporated into A Midsummer Night’s Dream XVI. The final work is both a regional and national collaboration, and unique in the Museum’s permanent collection. ProvenanceThe mixed media painting was created at the Chrysler Museum of Art by Tim Rollins and K.O.S. with the following local students-- from Norfolk are: Anthony Owens and Jonathan Hund (Granby High School), Chris Richardson and Kevin Lee (Lake Taylor High School), Kate Bosse and Keith Williamson (Maury High School), Jared Sosa and Robert Stone (Norview High School), and Eric Larkin and Jonathan Milton (Booker T. Washington High School). Participating students from Virginia Beach all attend Salem High School: Kathryn Wright, Naomi Scully, Daniel Richards, Glenn Allsbrook, Ramises Tamondong, José Reyes, Nathaniel Jorge, Katherine Hinshaw, Emi Komatsuzyaki, and Natalie Murphy; Chrysler Museum of Art, 2001. Exhibition History"The Creation: Tim Rollins + K.O.S.," Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach, Va., September 15 - October 30, 2005. "Remix: A Fresh Look At Our Modern And Contemporary Art Collections," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia, November 2, 2011 - March 17, 2012. "The Nexus," Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA, January 25 - April 28, 2013. "Come Together, Right Now: The Art of Gathering," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA, October 11, 2020 - January 3, 2021.
