Expanding Vision

“Again and again, when black artists adapt street work to the stage, the critics say it’s terrific. When it’s framed as black history, it’s more than terrific.” writes Joan Acocella. Rennie Harris comes out of a Hip Hop tradition. In his new piece “Facing Mekka” the “moral vision is broader, and, despite the videos, the means are largely abstract: music, dance. This makes it encompassing—a story not just of African-American memory but of memory itself.”