Exhibition: Steven Evans - Song for a Memorial
On June 1, 2022, the New York City AIDS Memorial launched this newly commissioned program centered around a site-specific, sculptural installation by Houston, Texas-based artist Steven Evans. Running throughout the summer, Songs for a Memorial is the fourth in the Memorial’s ongoing series of visual art and cultural programs that illuminate the history and future of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City.
Listen to the Songs for a Memorial Playlist below:
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Songs for a Memorial (2020-22) consists of 12 text-based, polychromatic, LED sculptures designed to evoke neon signage and the dynamic energy of nightlife, creating vibrant layers of color throughout the Memorial. This newly commissioned work exists at the intersection of language and memory by way of Evans’ appropriation of titles from songs tied inextricably to the period surrounding the onset and height of the AIDS epidemic, from the 1970s hit “Love Is the Message” by MFSB, Sylvester’s anthem “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real),” and the early 1980s British synth-pop protest song “Why” by Bronski Beat among other Downtown New York club and radio favorites.
By juxtaposing multiple song titles across genres, Evans weaves narratives of both individual and collective memory and history that simultaneously speak to complex relationships between loss, love, sadness, joy, and celebration—paradoxes that exist at the crux of his practice. As Julie Ault quoted Andrew Holleran, in her essay for Evans’ 2019 solo exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, “any memory of those days is nothing but a string of songs.”
The soundtrack of Evans’ work was the jumping-off point for Dance for a Memorial, a celebratory dance party featuring DJs Lady Bunny and Lina Bradford playing tracks inspired by Evans’ installation, closing out Pride Month. The dance party was preceded by Meet Me on the Dance Floor, an hour-long storytelling program presented with the Generations Project focused on sharing tales from nights under the disco ball. Meet Me on the Dance Floor and Dance for a Memorial both took place at the New York City AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle on June 29, from 6 – 9 PM.
Songs for a Memorial is exhibited through NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program
Support for Songs for a Memorial is generously provided by:
Songs for a Memorial (2020-22) was created by Steven Evans, commissioned by the New York City AIDS Memorial, and fabricated by Lite Brite Neon.
Photography: Celeste Godoy
Special thanks to: Lite Brite Neon, The Lighting Design Group, Fremont Blue Events, Jeanne Vaccaro, NYC Parks, Avenue 8, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation, and the New York City Council.