The New-York Historical Society’s first artist-in-residence, Bettina von Zwehl, presents new works inspired by the Museum’s collection of American portrait miniatures—particularly the profile drawings by Benjamin Tappan (1773 – 1857)—and by news coverage of a teen die-in staged shortly after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Von Zwehl has created 17 portraits of New York City teenagers in the historical form of the silhouetted profile, describing them as death masks sculpted from life. The conflation forms a trenchant tribute to the victims of the school shooting on Valentine’s Day, 2018, as well as a testament to endurance and the practice of protest and teen activism.

Meditations in an Emergency, #1, 2018

Meditations in an Emergency, #2, 2018

Installation view: Meditations in an Emergency, 2018; New-York Historical Society Museum and Library

Profile drawing by Benjamin Tappan (1773 – 1857)

Meditations in an Emergency, #3, 2018

Meditations in an Emergency, #4, 2018

Meditations in an Emergency, #5, 2018

Installation view (Screen detail): Meditations in an Emergency, 2018; New-York Historical Society Museum and Library. As the New-York Historical Society’s first artist-in-residence, the London-based photographer Bettina von Zwehl gathered 17 students from New York City High Schools to pose for anonymous silhouettes. The series, titled Meditations in an Emergency, loosely represent the victims of the 14 February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland, Florida. Yet the positions of the students’ bodies in the photos also recall the “die-in” protests held by student activists calling for stronger gun control laws in the US. To reinforce this, outside of the exhibition on the museum’s second floor, there is a slideshow of activists holding signs with phrases such as: “Enough is Enough”. “It was really important to balance the idea of a memorial with the force of that teen movement,” von Zwehl says. “And to leave the view of some sense of hope at the end.” While the form is inspired by portraits of anonymous Americans in the New-York Historical Society’s archives by the 19th-century artist Benjamin Tappan, the series largely came out of von Zwehl’s disillusionment with the zealous culture surrounding gun ownership. The series title is taken from reports by teachers in America declaring a state of emergency after the Parkland shooting as well as a book of poetry by Frank O’Hara. THE ART NEWSPAPER by Amanda Svachula 13 February 2019 (excerpt)