African American Performance Art Archive

Maren Hassinger presented Crucifix/Red Cross at “Remy Presents: Project Grand Central,” an exhibition curated by Allan Schwartzman that included installations and performance art by Hassinger, Dara Birnbaum, Brian Eno, Jenny Holzer, Senga Nengudi, and Randy Williams. The exhibition was sponsored by Remy Martin.

For the opening reception in the waiting room at Grand Central Terminal, Hassinger turned partiers into “kinetic sculpture.” Hassinger writes that she “wore a bright red suit and put bright red crosses on furniture, walls, and people:” “Red fabric tape was the material I used to “mark” anyone who wanted me to with a red cross. These people than went about their business at the opening socializing, etc. The red crosses made the people stand out in the space – they moved about like kinetic sculpture. The red crosses also brought up other associations – like the American Red Cross, religion, etc. I originally wanted to remove lights in the chandeliers there and replace some of them with red exit lights. At the last minute they denied me permission. So, what to do with just a few hours ’til opening – improvise!”