A little over two years since Leonard Cohen died, a new contemporary art and multimedia exhibition inspired by the themes of Cohen's life and work will be coming to the Jewish Museum. Leonard Cohen: A Crack In Everything will be on display at the museum from April 12th through September 8th, 2019.
The exhibition, which was first presented by the Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal this year, will feature commissioned works by international artists that pay tribute to the late singer’s music and poetry. The name of the exhibit comes from the Cohen classic "Anthem," from his 1992 album The Future: "Ring the bells that still can ring/ Forget your perfect offering/ There is a crack, a crack in everything/ That's how the light gets in."
The New York presentation will include Kara Blake, Candice Breitz, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Christophe Chassol, Daily Tous Les Jours, Tacita Dean, Kota Ezawa, George Fok, Ari Folman, Jon Rafman, and Taryn Simon. The exhibition will also include a video projection showcasing Cohen's own drawings, as well as an innovative multimedia gallery where visitors can hear covers of Cohen's songs by musicians such as Lou Doillon; Feist; Moby; and The National with Sufjan Stevens, Ragnar Kjartansson, and Richard Reed Parry, among others.
('Passing Through,' photo by Guy L'Heureux)
The exhibit will take up two full floors of the museum. Among the highlights are some of Cohen’s drawings; video installations including Passing Through, a 360-degree video installation by George Fok; director Ari Folman's Depression Chamber, which allows one visitor at a time into a darkened room "where they are confronted by the demons of depression, a theme that can be traced throughout Cohen's body of work;" and The Poetry Machine, an installation by Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, in which every key on a vintage Wurlitzer organ produces Cohen's voice reading a poem from his Book of Longing.
('The Poetry Machine,' photo by Guy L'Heureux)
"What began as an incredible, dizzying celebration full of admiration for this great Montrealer and planetary star then necessarily also morphed into a much more solemn and commemorative experience," John Zeppetelli, who curated the exhibit with Victor Shiffman, told the Times. "We’re so happy to be able to premiere the show outside of Canada, and to do it in New York is just so gratifying."
Now, enjoy a classic Cohen song about psychic terrorism:
