Allora & Calzadilla
Intermission (Halloween Iraq IV)
2010
Intermission (Halloween Iraq IV)
Intermission (Halloween Iraq IV) is a large print that depicts U.S. soldiers in Iraq celebrating Halloween. They ride donkeys—apparently playing polo—while wearing masks that simultaneously familiarize the soldiers, through the recognition of a common holiday, and distance them, through the obscuring of their faces. Its means of reproduction—a woodblock print—further amplifies the distance between the event and its presentation, as well as the engagement of the artists.
Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla comprise the artistic duo Allora & Calzadilla. Their work often takes the form of performances, installations, and sound pieces that refer to sociopolitical phenomena and history. Forms from these spheres of life—an overturned tank, a treadmill, a piano—are displaced and spliced together in new configurations, often with performers or viewers engaging with these material segments of the world.