Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago

Samson Young

Silver Moon or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy of Me?

18.09.2019 - 29.12.2019
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view

In his first U.S. museum exhibition, Samson Young premieres a trilogy of animated music videos that explores varying concepts of social progress and utopia.

Loosely taking the idealism displayed at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair as a point of departure, this multimedia exhibition asks how people adapt to societal changes that they have little control over. For Young, “progress” as it was defined in the 1933 fair’s subtitle “A Century of Progress” represents a specific variant of aspirational thinking that was exported around the globe in the decades that followed. Through careful processing and manipulation of images, sound, and space, Young considers the promotion of utopian dreams while dwelling on the various ways in which cars, shopping malls, and model homes like the House of Tomorrow and Armco-Ferro House are embedded with ideas of social progress and personal freedom.

Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Photo: Michael Tropea,
Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art
Silver Moon Or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy Of Me?
Installation view
Photo: Michael Tropea, Courtesy: Smart Museum of Art