Past

Sanford Biggers and Jennifer Zackin: a small world…

Mar. 30 – Oct. 14, 2012

Juxtaposing home movies from each of two artists’ families—one African American and one Jewish American—this video focuses on the intersections of middle-class life across ethnic lines.

In the collaborative video a small world…, artists Sanford Biggers and Jennifer Zackin juxtapose home movies of their families—one African American and one Jewish American—to explore the intersections of middle-class life across racial lines. Originally recorded in silent super-8 film, the video shows the artists as children growing up in New York and Los Angeles in the 1970s. Typical family events and holidays—birthdays, Hanukkah, Christmas, barbecues, family trips to Disneyland, playtime in the backyard—are shown simultaneously, drawing attention to similarities of class while recognizing differences of ethnicity.

About the Artists

Sanford Biggers
Sanford Biggers, a Los Angeles native currently based in New York, creates artworks that integrate film, video, installation, sculpture, drawing, original music and performance. His most recent solo exhibitions were at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Sculpture Center, and Mass MoCA. His work has also been featured at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Jennifer Zackin
Jennifer Zackin is a New York-based mixed-media artist. Often examining issues of race and ethnicity, her sculptures, videos and site-specific installations have been widely exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Wexner Center for the Arts in Ohio, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and the Zacheta National Art Gallery in Warsaw, Poland.

Media programs are supported by the Martin and Doris Payson Fund for Film and Media.

Sanford Biggers (American, b. 1970) and Jennifer Zackin (American, b. 1970), a small world…, 1999–2001, single-channel projection (color, silent), DVD, 6 min., 30 sec. Purchase: Fine Arts Acquisitions Committee Fund, 2001-63. Courtesy of the artists

Exhibition highlights

  • Sanford Biggers (American, b. 1970) and Jennifer Zackin (American, b. 1970), a small world…, 1999–2001, single-channel projection (color, silent), DVD, 6 min., 30 sec. Purchase: Fine Arts Acquisitions Committee Fund, 2001-63. Courtesy of the artists

    Sanford Biggers (American, b. 1970) and Jennifer Zackin (American, b. 1970), a small world…, 1999–2001, single-channel projection (color, silent), DVD, 6 min., 30 sec. Purchase: Fine Arts Acquisitions Committee Fund, 2001-63. Courtesy of the artists

  • Sanford Biggers (American, b. 1970) and Jennifer Zackin (American, b. 1970), a small world…, 1999–2001, single-channel projection (color, silent), DVD, 6 min., 30 sec. Purchase: Fine Arts Acquisitions Committee Fund, 2001-63. Courtesy of the artists

    Sanford Biggers (American, b. 1970) and Jennifer Zackin (American, b. 1970), a small world…, 1999–2001, single-channel projection (color, silent), DVD, 6 min., 30 sec. Purchase: Fine Arts Acquisitions Committee Fund, 2001-63. Courtesy of the artists