ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the abundance of religious references in Theaster Gates’ oeuvre, analyzes the artist’s engagement with his own religious background, and focuses on a particular work: a procession-like performance organized by the artist for the opening of the 2010 Milwaukee Art Museum exhibition, To Speculate Darkly: Theaster Gates and Dave the Potter. Gates’ religious and cultural upbringings inform his creative motivations and reveal an implicit critique of the museum space and art historical traditions expressed by this performance. Finally, this chapter asks, “What does it mean, today, to talk about religion and spirituality in the context of the utterly reified world of contemporary art?”
