Nancy Spero
Cri du Coeur, 2005
Handprinting on paper mounted on polyester poplin
Overall dimensions: 25 x 1,925 7/16 inches (83.2 x 4893.1 cm); room configuration variable; as installed at Galerie Lelong in Nov 2005: 25 x 1,924" (160' 4") - 4,887 cm (48 m 87 cm)
In Nancy Spero’s monumental work on paper, Cri du Coeur, crowds of recurring female figures process along the floor, raising their arms to the sky in mourning. With imagery sourced from the ancient Egyptian tomb of Ramose of Thebes and stretching over 150 feet long, the installation is an encompassing and heart-wrenching expression of grief. At the time of its completion in 2005, Spero was mourning the loss of her longtime husband, Leon Golub, while also responding to images from Iraq, Afghanistan and post-Katrina New Orleans. And now in 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic and a national reckoning on race, Spero's “Cry of the Heart” captures a sense of collective anguish and invites us to walk together toward healing. – Lindsay Danckwerth