Arthur Jafa’s epic akingdoncomethas (2018) is composed of a series of clips, sourced from the internet, of bishops delivering sermons as well as singers and choirs performing gospel songs for their respective congregations. Through editing, Jafa isolates recurring narratives and performative gestures, and his sequencing gives a sense of the ethics and aesthetics of the Black Christian church. In one extended passage, the video shifts to footage from the 2017 California wildfires, scored with the undulation of voices, slow-build tempo, and wails of gospel and testimonial song. From these devastating fires to the crises of life and faith shared throughout akingdoncomethas, Black Christian belief and its attendant culture swells as a powerful and lyrical form of healing, connection, and perseverance.
Watch Jafa’s full-length video as part of our Art on the Stoop: Sunset Screenings series, showing each Friday and Saturday through October 10, starting at 6pm.
Arthur Jafa (American, born 1960). akingdoncomethas, 2018. [Excerpt] Video, color, sound, 1 hour 41 minutes Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Contemporary Art Committee and William K. Jacobs, Jr. Fund, 2018.22. © artist or artist's estate
