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A yellow sculpture with the oversized letters Y and O

Deborah Kass: OY/YO

December 20, 2019–Ongoing

Brooklyn-based painter, printmaker and sculptor Deborah Kass is known for working at the intersection of art history, popular culture and identity -- particularly related to Jewish culture and elements of difference – all three of which come together in OY/YO. Commissioned in 2019, OY/YO greets visitors to the Cantor at its front entrance.

OY/YO explores the combination of imagery and language: “oy,” as in “oy vey,” is a Yiddish term of fatigue, resignation or woe; “yo,” is a greeting associated with African American slang. In addition, “yo” in Spanish means “I.” Each usage has been co...

Q & A with Mark Dion

Part 1

Love, Death, and Mourning

Q: Can you talk about the impact of Leland Stanford Jr.’s death?

A: We imagine that if Leland Jr. hadn’t died of typhoid, we wouldn’t have had The Leland Stanford Jr. Memorial Museum or Stanford University. The response of the Stanfords, particularly Jane Stanford, to Leland’s death, was that ‘the children of California will be our children.’”

So, without the death of Leland Stanford Jr. we don’t have the museum, and we don’t have Stanford University. Without Stanford University, we probably don’t have the Silicon Valley. Without the Silicon Valley...