David Horvitz's Sad, Depressed, People

In New York? Artist David Horvitz wants to photograph you pretending to be sad or depressed.

Attention New Yorkers: Are you feeling sad? Depressed? Even if not, can you plausibly fake it? If so, you may wish to visit Recess, the artists’ workspace located in Soho at 41 Grand Street. Artist David Horvitz is in residence there through tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. He’s shooting portraits of people “acting out stock depictions of sadness and depression” as a continuation of the project collected in his 2012 book Sad, Depressed, People. As the artist says: “This is a fake sadness. It is a superficial depression. One sold on stock sites. A sadness that has been hijacked and auctioned off….”

Even if you can’t make it in time to pose, the show remains on view through August 10, and Horvitz will present a 35-mm slide show of the images in the series he has made to date. Paired with Horvitz’s presentation is a related project by artist Penelope Umbrico. For more information, visit the Recess website.