Kodwo Eshun: Rock My Religion at the Whitechapel Gallery

On Thursday 31 January 2013, the Whitechapel Gallery, London, will screen Dan Graham’s Rock My Religion (1983-84), the subject of our recent  One Work book, followed by a discussion with author Kodwo Eshun.

Dan Graham’s video essay Rock My Religion is populated by punk and rock performers (Patti Smith, Jim Morrison, Black Flag and Glenn Branca) and historical figures (including Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers). This coming together of several narrative voice-overs, of singing and shouting voices, of jarring sounds and text overlaid onto shaky, gritty images, proposes a historical genealogy of rock music and an ambitious thesis on the origins of America.

Kodwo Eshun is an artist, theorist and co-founder of the Otolith Group. In  Dan Graham: Rock My Religion, he examines this landmark work of contemporary moving image in relation to Graham’s wider body of work and to the broader culture of the time, especially in relation to history, popular culture, and individual and communal identity.

Copies of  Dan Graham: Rock My Religion by Kodwo Eshun will be available from the Whitechapel Gallery bookshop on the night; alternatively you can order the book from The MIT Press website.

Kodwo Eshun: Rock My Religion
Thursday 31 January, 19:00-20:30

Zilkha Auditorium
Whitechapel Gallery
77-82 Whitechapel High Street
London
E1 7QX

Tickets: £8.00 (£6.00 concessions). Booking essential. To purchase tickets or for more information visit the Whitechapel Gallery website.