NYT, October 6, 2015, Vivian Stromberg

This work, titled NYT, OCTOBER 6, 2015, VIVIAN STROMBERG (2016, Canvas, paper, embroidery floss, and graphite, 15" x 20"), is part of the Words From Obituaries series and it corresponds, as indicated in the title, to the obituary of Vivian Stromberg published in the New York Times on October 6, 2015. Vivian Stromberg was one of the cofounders of Madre. Her contributions in the sphere of human rights for women are notable.

The pieces in the Words From Obituaries series consist of as little as twelve characters (and up to thirty-six … Stromberg’s piece has fourteen characters). There is no space between the letters and the line breaks ignore the rules of grammar, so at times they are hard to read. I only give the name of the person whose obituary I used in the title; images of the obituary are never included with the piece — however, through the title (which also includes the publication date), a viewer can access the published text online.

Overall, the series explores questions of language and remembering, and of language as a material that evokes, illuminates, comes together, falls apart. One of the questions the project explores, for example, is “What are the dead remembered for, and for how long?”