Molly Joyce
b. 1992, Pittsburgh, PA; lives and works in Charlottesville, VA
Perspective, 2020 - ongoing
Video, 18 min 30 sec, loop
Commission by The Fralin Museum of Art
Amplifying disability viewpoints. Perspective originated from a conversation between Molly Joyce and disability activist Judith Heumann, who challenged Joyce's description of her left hand as “weak.” This question sparked Joyce’s exploration of how concepts like weakness are defined and perceived, prompting her to ask interviewees across a range of disabilities what such terms mean to them. Their responses are presented through sound (recorded voices with musical accompaniment) and visual elements (open captions and American Sign Language interpretation), highlighting the project’s commitment to accessibility and multisensory engagement.
In this iteration, commissioned by The Fralin, Joyce interviewed twenty-seven disabled individuals from the Charlottesville area, including UVA students and faculty as well as members of local organizations such as The Arc of the Piedmont. Focusing on themes of rest, vulnerability, comparison, and cure, Perspective reveals the complexity of experiences that are both central to the disabled community and resonate universally.
Interviewees: Paul Conrad Anderson, Hailey Ablett, Ramkrishna Sharma, Lindsay (Elle) Burke, Heather Nicole Christensen, Sarah Deavers, Kyle Deven, Emi Flowers, Bonnie Gordon, James Herndon, Emily Hunter, Lindsay Jones, Mya Marquez, Audrey Melzer, Maggie Lane Meyers, Madeline F Paczkowski, Eliott Renenger, DJ Rush, Loren Davis Seely, Judith Shatin, Lynn Smith, Liz Thompson, Carolina Davis Turner, Katie Phuong Khanh Vuong, Rupa S. Valdez, Brianna Chanel Whitaker, Daniel Zimmerman
Artist Description
This series contains 4 conversations with multiple people. Each video contains speech and sound. A woman’s baritone voice prompts each theme with the questions of Rest? Vulnerability? Comparison? Cure? The voices are of varying fidelity and accents, all of them speak with honesty and conviction. They are kind, sometimes stern, some speak with joy and others with concern. The soundtracks are dynamic and dramatic. Through organs, synthesizers, and voices the music breathes dark and heavy tones, shimmering bright crystals, pendulous choirs, opposing magnets, and harmonious centrifuge. Left to right, forward to back the sound envelopes the speech in complimenting colors and weight. At times the pressure of an atom splitter, the lights of nebulas, the movements of storm clouds, reds and oranges like drifting embers. Some sonic passages change at the mention of specific phrases as if they were sleeper cells. Others vibrate fast and shift gradually, seldomly obscuring the conversation.
-- Description by Andy Slater
Basic Description
A looping video artwork featuring white text against a black background and a soundscape including interviewee voices and various drones and musical voices. In the center of the video frame, an American Sign Language interpreter with curly hair and a trimmed beard, dressed in a black shirt and blazer appears against a blue gradient background. The interview questions appear in white bold text above the interpreter, and below the interviewee answers. The artwork focuses on themes of rest, vulnerability, comparison, and cure.