- Nova Benway
The Object of Society Is, a newly commissioned film by Jenny Perlin , results from a year’s research on the writings of Eleanor Roosevelt. Perlin’s work explores intersections between personal and social histories, and investigates the documentation and representation of cultural and social values. The film is informed by a multitude of sources, among them the thousands of “My Day” newspaper columns Roosevelt wrote between 1935 and 1962, which reveal the mingling of her personal and political ideologies; John Milton’s 1655 poem “On His Blindness” and the 1908 play The Blue Bird, which Roosevelt referred to as inspirations throughout her life; and the copious annotations Roosevelt made to drafts of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this exhibition, literary parables and early film combine with political rhetoric and Roosevelt’s biography to comment on the ways in which a wide array of images and texts shape political discourse in America.
The Object of Society Is is curated by Nova Benway as part of the requirements for the master of arts degree in curatorial studies.
Student-curated projects at CCS Bard are made possible with support from the Rebecca and Martin Eisenberg Student Exhibition Fund; the Mitzi and Warren Eisenberg Family Foundation; the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation; the Board of Governors of the Center for Curatorial Studies, and by the Center’s Patrons, Supporters, and Friends. Additional support is provided by the Monique Beudert Award Fund.
