May Daze & Early June: a video diary by Lucky Marvel

June 17, 2024Mia Parnall

As part of the Community of Images exhibition, CCJ commissioned a short video work by University of the Arts graduate Lucky Marvel reacting to the works shown in our Community of Images exhibition at Philadelphia Art Alliance, which was administered by UArts until the institution's sudden closure.

Lucky's video work, which shows the aftermath of the closure including its effect on and responses from its students and workers, finds parallels in the work of artists Masanori Oe and Fujiko Nakaya in the Community of Images exhibition. Nakaya made innovative use of video to record a 1972 protest against the Chisso Corporation, and her translation of Michael Shamberg's manual Guerilla Television became an important text for the collective Video Hiroba, which advocated the spontaneous shooting and broadcasting of events against the grain of mainstream TV. Oe, who spent 1965-1968 in New York City, shot numerous protests, most notably the March on the Pentagon of 1967, developing in the process a cinematic language for the counterculture.

Given the recent and sudden announcement of UArts closure on June 1 - one week before university operations were scheduled to terminate on June 7 and two weeks before the Community of Images exhibition was scheduled to open on June 14, the focus of this work necessarily pivoted to reflect the collective shock, anguish, and rage that the entire UArts community and Philadelphia's artist and creative community are feeling. While we are grateful that our exhibit was able to open on June 14 at Philadelphia Art Alliance, CCJ is fundraising to cover the gallery staffing costs during the exhibition dates, and we stand in solidarity with the dedicated arts workers, students, and graduates affected by UArts irresponsible actions.

We hope this powerful work from Lucky will inspire more creative responses to the school's sudden closure, as Philadelphia's creative community continues to process these recent events.