Jayson Musson: His History of Art

02.08.2023 - 06.17.2023

Jayson Musson: His History of Art is a Midwestern premiere of the new three-channel video series written, starred, and co-directed by New York-based artist Jayson Musson and produced in its entirety as part of his artist residency at Philadelphia’s celebrated Fabric Workshop and Museum. His History of Art playfully deploys costumes, props, puppets, and scenery and centers on a sitcom-style video series, in which Musson—performing as “Jay”— endeavors to educate his skeptical puppet sidekick Ollie on the relevance of art. Jay and Ollie journey across a three-episode arc from prehistoric art through the present, encountering figures as varied as Pablo Picasso and a larger-than-life Venus of Willendorf along the way. 

Image: Jayson Musson as “Jay” with “Ollie.” Jayson Musson, in collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, His History of Art, 2022. Photo credit: Carlos Avendaño.