GRIEF
“These are the people who died, and we alone have survived: To say that these are the people who died, and we alone have survived…”
A pedestal to hold the names of the dead
Commission, Summer 2020
Grief was conceived, written, and composed by Benjamin Hackman.
It was performed on July 1, 2020 by Benjamin Hackman and The Holy Gasp Ensemble.
The names of the dead were scribed by Rochelle Rubinstein.
The pedestal to hold the scrolls of names was made by Leo Krukowski.
Grief is a choral performance. It is intended as a mourning ritual for anyone who has lost anyeone. During the first performance, the names of 17000 dead people were recited.
I was commissioned to create this brass pedestal to hold a series of scrolls, each with a list of names scribed by artist Rochelle Rubinstein. The scrolls drew on a volunteered database of names contributed in anticipation of Grief, as well as from a number of public databases of the dead.
After working together on Bronze Music, Benjamin approached me to be part of Grief. I saw his role as being similar to a griever from antiquity, helping a funeral procession mourn and express their lamentations. As well as holding Rochelle’s scrolls, the pedestal was made to encourage Benjamin during the performance which began at sundown and continued past sunrise.
The Holy Gasp Ensemble
The Recitation of the Names of the Dead by Benjamin Hackman
Pianos by Yunjin Claire Lee and UV Aberman
Percussion by Jaash Singh and Jared Goldman
ASL Performance by Thurga Kanagasekarampillai
Vocals by Evan Arbic, Conrad Coates, Nova Emad, Ahmed Moneka, Joelle Peters, Mark Reidl, Holly Timpener, Petergail Williams, Quisha Wint
Read more about Grief at https://theholygasp.com/grief/
Above photography by Mitchel Raphael