For those of us with the good fortune to have a place to hang our things, a closet is a magical container, a collection of materials, arranged by each of us that at a glance can reveal our values, desires, cares, and even our deepest secrets. Time itself is frozen inside a closet in contrasting meters and time-lines, fragmented in things accumulated and arranged in juxtaposed order, stacked and aligned, quickly thrown or casually dropped there to be taken care of later. The scene is set, and the narratives that blossom come alive whenever the doors swing open, giving us a reading, a reminder, an understanding of who we are and where we have been, secrets and dreams we hold. Boxes concealing our heart’s contours, scribbled messages scratched on folded notes and cards, photos, records, files, all the stuff worth saving for the reason that each thing signifies, all these choices contained in the holding space: the closet.

Artist Jim Hodges’s Craig’s closet is installed to the right of the museum’s entrance on Collins C. Diboll Circle, easily accessible by all visitors to New Orleans City Park. The sculpture was originally commissioned as part of the NYC Parks’s Art in the Parks program for the New York City AIDS Memorial. The presentation of Craig’s closet in New Orleans is supported by UOVO.

About the Artist

Through his work, Jim Hodges addresses issues such as memory, love, and existential struggles through photography, screen printing, and sculpture. Major public installations by Hodges include I dreamed a world and called it Love, Grand Central Station, New York (2021); Unearthed, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco (2019); and With Liberty and Justice For All, Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2015). His works are included in prominent collections internationally, including the Art Institute of Chicago; the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; the Dallas Museum of Art; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Pérez Art Museum Miami; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Walker Art Centre, Minneapolis; and the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris.