The seven lines comprising Alfredo Jaar’s He Ram are taken from Mahatma Gandhi’s grave, and represent Gandhi’s list of “Seven Social Sins.” The artist recently wrote to me reflecting, “They were the perfect representation of the moral decay of our society. They were simple, direct, clear, brilliant. Needless to say, they apply today more than ever." Jaar has used mirrors in his work since the 1980s, and, by silkscreening these words onto the surface of a mirror, pays homage to Gandhi in a deceptively simple gesture—we are implicated as we view ourselves reading, and as we observe others viewing themselves and us.

Lilian Tone, Assistant Curator, Department of Painting and Sculpture