Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

I went to Arizona and I was thinking about memories of the American landscape, by which I mean memories from before the Europeans came here. The Southwest is a perfect example of different cultures layered on top of each other, and next to each other. I’m very interested in how stories are retold, of course. That’s what we do—we retell stories. —Joan Jonas

A central figure of performance and video art since the 1960s, Joan Jonas has created her own universe of familiar symbols, drawn from poetry and literature, as well as traditions, rituals, and mythologies from around the world. In The Shape, The Scent, The Feel of Things, Jonas’s video is projected onto five distinct screens that are arranged as an installation that includes the artist’s sculptural props and drawings.