MoMA PS1 in Long Island City, Queens, recently organized a major retrospective of Rirkrit Tiravanija titled A Lot of People, on view until this past March. Eric Silberberg, Assistant Professor and Librarian for Instructional Design and Education at Queens College, CUNY, reflects on the exhibition in A.R.T. Notes. In his reflection, Silberberg explores the educational possibilities of Tiravanija's work and discusses our Teaching Guide on the artist, published earlier this year.

In partnership with MoMA PS1, our Library Program is excited to distribute the exhibition catalog of A Lot of People to public reading spaces.

In the spring of 2024, I visited Rirkrit Tiravanija’s retrospective, A Lot of People, at MoMA PS1 with a group of colleagues from the School of Education at Queens College. Our purpose was to explore the educational possibilities of Tiravanija’s work and, in so doing, draw inspiration for our own work as faculty training the next generation of teachers.

Inside one of the galleries, next to Tiravanija’s famed Pad Thai kitchen, was Rehearsal Studio No. 6, Open Version. A literal rehearsal studio in a simple pine-framed room, like the ones you’d find in old industrial buildings around Queens and Brooklyn. My colleagues and I decided to give it a shot. We grabbed the electric guitars, keyboard, and drums, hit a few hesitant first notes, and suddenly, actual music began to emerge. Yes, with real intentionality to the rhythm, harmony, and movement. Playing created an instant intimacy despite the fact that up until that moment, our relationship had been staid and professional.

I returned a few weeks later with my brother, who I’ve played music with since childhood. This time, we were joined by a motley crew: two college kids on spring break, a high schooler, and a middle-aged woman. People would wander in, pause, listen for a moment, and then either shout out a request or politely clap. All of us in the simple pine-framed room were strangers with varying levels of musical skill and a mix of cultural references. Yet through our musical improvisation, we created a brief moment of, if not community, communality.

Ruba Katrib, the MoMA PS1 curator, writes in the exhibition catalog for A Lot of People that Tiravanija “creates situations that are dependent on the artist being present to initiate them, but he is just as invested in what unfolds in his absence.” In the rehearsal studio, Tiravanija created a space for curated interaction, much in the same way that teachers set up learning experiences and then step back to empower students to take the lead.

The Teaching Guide for Rirkrit Tiravanija, created by A.R.T. Education Advisor and Secondary Education Professor at Queens College Wendy Tronrud with her English education graduate students and A.R.T. staff, offers several examples that draw inspiration from Tiravanija’s work to critically examine “what forms community?” and “how can a community undo those forms?” One student and current English teacher, Georgia, contributes a writing prompt to the guide that asks students to compare the protests in The Hunger Games with Tiravanija’s Untitled 2015 (Bangkok Boogie Woogie, No. 2). The work was in response to the 2010 political protests in Bangkok, where rolling flaming tires were the main instrument of disruption. Tiravanija cast tires in bronze, recorded them on fire, and then displayed the video alongside sixteen bronze tires in the gallery.

Georgia, reflecting on her own prompt, writes that “civilians are doing something to make a change, express emotions, and fight for what is right. This artwork can explore the idea of protesting or fighting for freedom whether it’s from the government, a group, a country/nation, or individuals.” The prompt encourages students to consider protest in multiple contexts: in the classroom, by reading about fictional protests in The Hunger Games; in the gallery, by examining an artist's interpretation of protest; and in their own communities, by reflecting on their personal experiences with protest.

Both the rehearsal studio and Georgia's prompt invite us to see how art can serve as a catalyst for community formation and social change. The classroom, like Tiravanija’s work, can create the conditions for individuals to join a collective, observe the social tensions within the collective, and then reflect critically on that experience.

Eric Silberberg is Assistant Professor and Librarian for Instructional Design and Education at Queens College, City University of New York.