Jason Lazarus / PPA: A (Short) Visual History of Poverty in the United States

POOR PEOPLE’S ART: A (SHORT) VISUAL HISTORY OF POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES
January 13 – March 4, 2023
USF Contemporary Art Museum

Participating Artists:
John Ahearn
Nina Berman
Martha De la Cruz
Jill Freedman
Rico Gatson
Mark Thomas Gibson
Corita Kent
Jason Lazarus
Miguel Luciano
Hiram Maristany
Narsiso Martinez
Adrian Piper
Robert Rauschenberg
Rodrigo Valenzuela
William Villalongo & Shraddha Ramani
Marie Watt

Curated by Christian Viveros-Fauné

Resurrection City / Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival / A Third Reconstruction
plywood, utility fabric, blankets, sleeping cot, paint, lamps, plastic, research library, historical ephemera
2023 — *Resurrection City / Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival / A Third Reconstruction*

plywood, utility fabric, blankets, sleeping cot, paint, lamps, plastic, research library, historical ephemera

2023

Jason Lazarus’ sculptural installation Resurrection City/Poor People’s Campaign: A National call for Moral Revival/ A Third Reconstruction (2023) is anchored in the artist’s historical research and several key photographs of Resurrection City. A tent-like shelter inspired by the temporary residences that populated the 1968 mass protest, the interactive sculpture contains simple sleeping quarters and a curated library filled with physical literature and ephemera centered on both the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign and the 2018 Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, co-led by Rev. Dr. William Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis. The library allows for audiences to trace, listen, and talk about the history of advocating for the poor, from 1865 to the present. Additionally, the artist provides a custom transcription (and a QR hyperlink) to Barber’s 49-minute address on the syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club” in which he carefully outlines a powerful vision for how we might address poverty going forward (a link is is provided further down in the scroll).

Found press photograph, caption reads:
WAP915-6/19-WASHINGTON: RESURRECTION CITY (FOREGROUND), WHERE MANY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN HAVE LIVED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, LOOKS OUT OVER THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE ASSEMBLED AROUND THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL IN THE SOLIDARITY DAY RALLY 6/19. — Found press photograph, caption reads: WAP915-6/19-WASHINGTON: RESURRECTION CITY (FOREGROUND), WHERE MANY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN HAVE LIVED FOR SEVERAL WEEKS, LOOKS OUT OVER THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE ASSEMBLED AROUND THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL IN THE SOLIDARITY DAY RALLY 6/19.

Found press photograph, caption reads:
MIAMI BEACH, Fla., June 28–ABERNETHY CAMPAIGNS FOR CAMP SITE–The Rev. Ralph Abernathy, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, puts his arm around a senior citizen here at Flamingo Park as a group plays cards. Abernethy visited the park and greeted citizens after a plea before the Miami Beach City Council to allow the setting up of a Resurrection City II at Flamingo Park which is large enough to accomodate some 50 persons and close enough to the convention site. (AP WIREPHOTO) 1972. — Found press photograph, caption reads: MIAMI BEACH, Fla., June 28–ABERNETHY CAMPAIGNS FOR CAMP SITE–The Rev. Ralph Abernathy, head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, puts his arm around a senior citizen here at Flamingo Park as a group plays cards. Abernethy visited the park and greeted citizens after a plea before the Miami Beach City Council to allow the setting up of a Resurrection City II at Flamingo Park which is large enough to accomodate some 50 persons and close enough to the convention site. (AP WIREPHOTO) 1972.

Found color slide inscribed RESURRECTION CITY JUNE 1968
Found press photograph, caption reads:
WASHINGTON, June 18–CAMPAIGNERS FOR THE POOR–These faces are a cross-section of the group which occupies “Resurrection City,” the plywood shantytown in Washington where the Poor People’s Campaign is centered. They are among the residents there who have been staging demonstrations at various government offices for more than a month. The highlight of their campaign against hunger will be on Wednesday–termed “Solidarity Day”–with a mass demonstration in the nation’s capital. (AP Wirephoto) 1968. — Found color slide inscribed RESURRECTION CITY JUNE 1968 Found press photograph, caption reads: WASHINGTON, June 18–CAMPAIGNERS FOR THE POOR–These faces are a cross-section of the group which occupies “Resurrection City,” the plywood shantytown in Washington where the Poor People’s Campaign is centered. They are among the residents there who have been staging demonstrations at various government offices for more than a month. The highlight of their campaign against hunger will be on Wednesday–termed “Solidarity Day”–with a mass demonstration in the nation’s capital. (AP Wirephoto) 1968.

detail, artist-transcribed copy of Reverend William Barber’s interview on The Breakfast Club Radio Show, linked below

THE BREAKFAST CLUB: Rev. William Barber On Poor People’s Campaign, Public Mourning, Changing Policies For Justice + More