COURTESY OF JESSE KRIMES
Jesse Krimes stands in front of his “Apokaluptein: 16389067,” not all of which is visible. The installation will be at the Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick through Dec. 14.
Introducing a new feature on NJArts.net: A series of posts, each focusing on one work of art on display at a museum, gallery or other exhibition space in New Jersey. These will appear daily, though not on weekends.
Today’s art is “Apokaluptein: 16389067,” by Jesse Krimes, which is at the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University in New Brunswick through Dec. 14. It’s a huge, 30-feet-by-15-feet installation, made of relatively small pieces of artwork Krimes made during 70 months in prison (on a non-violent drug charge), using bed sheets, newspaper clippings and commissary supplies. He smuggled the pieces out of prison, then put them together after he was released.
The installation depicts an intricate, symbol-filled world, influenced by Dante’s “Divine Comedy.” The first part of the title is derived from “apocalypse”; the second part is Krimes’ prison identification number. He underwent a kind of personal apocalypse in prison: “all measure within prison seems to collapse, leaving only time to reflect,” he has said.
For more information on the exhibit, click here.
Here is a video about the making of the installation:
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