Infused with his distinct and biting humor, Jayson Musson’s work offers incisive commentaries on how art, its production, and its dissemination reflect our cultural values, from the pinnacle of human achievement to our flagrant societal shortcomings. A decade removed from the artist’s YouTube phenomenon ART THOUGHTZ (2010–12), Musson makes his onscreen return with His History of Art, a sitcom series—written, directed, and starring Musson—filmed on-site and presented contextually in the galleries at the Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia.
In His History of Art, Musson’s notorious online persona Hennessy Youngman is reconstituted as Jay. Seeming to evince an even deeper and finely honed understanding of art world forces, Jay privileges the individualist mindset of wealthy collectors, the inflated art market, and historically problematic museum practices. Across three didactic-fueled, reference-filled episodes, as Jay’s arrogant bloviating seeks to school his rascally puppet sidekick Ollie, His History of Art unpacks fundamental tenets of the art historical canon, interrogating its relevance to our lives.
Documenting the multiplex project itself, the development of its many moving parts, and the close collaboration between Musson and FWM’s Studio, the accompanying catalogue contemplates the capacity for (and necessity of) humor within art, how Musson’s practice continued to evolve during his FWM residency, and his facility in broaching the vastness of the traditional Western art historical canon—in order to tear it down with a smile and a laugh.
Complementing a conversation with the artist, the catalogue includes responses to the project by art historian Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw and artist Michael Smith, as well as scripts, storyboards, insight on the project’s myriad art historical references, and behind-the-scenes imagery of the many concepts, prototypes, and props developed by Musson and the FWM team.
Published by the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia. Hardcover, 150 pages. 10 x 10 1/4 in.
Detail Jay and Ollie, on the film set of His History of Art at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, on view July 22–December 31, 2022.