Erasures, 1971-1973 (film still), 16 mm film, 20:16 minutes, silent, b/w, courtesy of the artist
Joshua Neustein
In Joshua Neustein's work Erasures (1971-1973), one sees two different actions performed by the hands of two participants: while one writes, the other erases the writing. Neustein repeatedly copies the words "sensitive," "fanatic," "good," "bad" and "Jew," as well as sentences like "I'm a good Jew," "I'm a good girl," etc. This action sheds an ironic light on definitions of ethics and identity that arise repeatedly in our consciousness, and on our failed battle against them.
Born in Danzig, Germany, 1940; lives and works in New York
