Over a week in April, faculty and doctoral students at Stony Brook University engaged with visiting artist Carolyn Lazard, whose work addresses themes of care, ableism, and dependency. Lazard, known for exploring the intersections of care and dependency in daily life, employs video, sculpture, performance, and installation to highlight the often unseen labor of care.
Karen Lloyd, associate professor of art at Stony Brook, coordinated the visit and incorporates Lazard’s art in the undergraduate course ARH 107: Art and Medicine. Lloyd noted, “Behind Carolyn’s minimalist aesthetic their work is profoundly nuanced and thoughtful in its conflations and juxtapositions of past and present, sound and image, and the personal and the societal." Lazard's art addresses themes such as race, social justice, education, institutional amorality, and disability and accessibility. According to Lloyd, their work is critical but not nihilistic, driven by a combination of care and rage.
During the week, participants engaged in discussions on crip theory and disability justice. They conducted exercises focusing on sensory-based knowledge, such as listening to environmental sounds and using tarot cards as tools. Lazard also hosted an artist talk and film screening as part of the Humanities Institute's spring events series.
Lazard commented on the week’s activities, stating, “In all of the events, we thought about pressing questions of dependency, autonomy and community, but in unexpected ways that offered us all the chance to slow down a little bit and think together."
The week concluded with a focus on the Health Sciences Center, a Brutalist structure at Stony Brook. Participants included faculty and graduate students from various disciplines. Lisa Diedrich, professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, expressed her admiration for Lazard’s demonstration of accessibility as an ongoing process rather than a one-time accommodation.
The Office of the Provost supports visiting artists annually, with proposals submitted by faculty and funds awarded by a faculty committee. Lazard’s visit was hosted by the Humanities Institute and the Future Histories Studio in the Department of Art.
Manisha Desai, co-chair of the visiting artists series selection committee, highlighted the importance of artistic engagement, stating, “As a scholar activist of transnational feminism I’ve always found that arts, broadly defined, touch and transform people in ways that are long lasting.” Desai emphasized the role of art in social justice and how it benefits the university community.