Previously Viewed

RSVP

This spring, the Contemporary Art Gallery is pleased to present Previously Viewed, a series of artist-curated film screenings. Inviting artists from CAG’s recent and upcoming programming to present films that have been formative to their thinking and practice in some way, each screening is a one-night-only event centered on a single feature-length work.

Christine Sun Kim has selected Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).

I was eight when Who Framed Roger Rabbit came out, and it had a big impact on how I tell stories and how I look for connections. It centered on an almost non-existent group of characters known as the Toons of Toontown. The town exists only within Hollywood and was under threat of being erased, or “dipped.” The Toons found themselves threatened by outside forces and changes they struggled to adapt to. Meanwhile non-Toons called the shots. Ultimately, however, the Toons prevailed. Perhaps this reminded me of the constant battles we disabled people face against society and all the ableist laws and mindsets that try to erase us. Much of my art aims to stake a position of visibility and permanence amid a pervasive ableist culture that is sometimes subtle and subconscious and sometimes overt and in your face. So I identify with the Toons and their antic struggles to evade being dipped.

I have to give a big shout out to Christopher Lloyd for his role as the supervillain Judge Doom. Back to the Future was released in 1985, Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988, and Back to the Future Part II in 1989, placing Roger Rabbit squarely between the two Future films. Seeing Lloyd shift from the good scientist Doc to this deranged and terrifying villain and then back again was seared into my memory. It’s just acting, but young me saw this as a spectrum of human morality, from diligent heroism to true darkness. It’s important to note that this film was made in the ’80s and is full of misogynistic stereotypes and damaging Hollywood tropes, which really stood out to me when I recently rewatched it. But I can’t deny its impact on me.

-Christine Sun Kim

Run time: 104 minutes.

RSVP

Registration for this event is encouraged; tickets are free. Secure your seat here.

Rush tickets will also be made available the day of the event, starting at 6:45pm.

Accessibility

This event will be held in CAG’s B.C. Binning Gallery, which is wheelchair accessible. Additional accessibility information can be found here. This film will be presented with closed captioning.

Biography

Christine Sun Kim has crafted a renowned practice that considers how sound operates in society, deconstructing the politics of sound and exploring how oral languages operate as social currency. Musical notation, written language, infographics, American Sign Language (ASL), the use of the body, and strategically deployed humor are all recurring elements in her practice. Working across drawing, performance, video and large scale murals, Kim explores her relationship to spoken and signed languages, to her built and social environments, and to the world at large.

Kim has exhibited and performed internationally, including at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2025); Gwangju Biennale (2023); Secession, Vienna (2023); Queens Museum, New York (2022); the Drawing Center, New York (2022); the Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt (2021); Manchester International Festival, Manchester (2021); MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge (2020); Whitney Biennial, New York (2019); Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Buffalo (2019); Art Institute of Chicago (2018); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2017); De Appel Arts Center, Amsterdam (2017); Berlin Biennale (2016); Shanghai Biennale (2016); MoMA PS1, New York (2015) and the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2013), among numerous others. Kim’s awards and fellowships include an MIT Media Lab Fellowship, a United States Artists fellowship, a Ford and Mellon Foundations’ Disabilities Future Fellowship, and the Prix International d’Art Contemporain of the Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco. Her works are held in numerous prominent collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, LACMA, Tate Britain, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others.