Oratorio di San Ludovico Dorsoduro, Venice, Italy
May 8–July 29, 2017
Presented by Ikon Gallery, On Kawara’s installation Reading One Million Years (Past and Future) took place over the first three months of the Biennale di Venezia in 2017. Volunteers gathered from Italy and beyond to read from One Million Years, two sets of volumes produced by the artist that list dates one million years into the future and one million years into the past; the first is dedicated to “all who have lived and died” and the second to “the last one.” The installation’s setting was significant: readings unfolded within Oratorio di San Ludovico, Dorsoduro, a 16th century ecclesiastic building dedicated to the spoken word.
This monumental 20 volume calendar lists dates one million years into the future and one million years into the past. Begun in 1969 and completed in 1999, the texts are dedicated respectively to "all who have lived and died" and to "the last one." The artist converted One Million Years from typewritten form into live readings and recordings in 1993. The reading is done by one male and one female reader who alternate between the odd and even numbers.
This epic work was presented at David Zwirner in New York in 2009, and more recently at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2015 as part of On Kawara—Silence, a critically acclaimed overview of the artist's work. The New York Times described the exhibition as "an enthralling experience."
Read more about the Venice presentation in The Art Newspaper. Reading One Million Years (Past and Future) was included in The Independent's 10 Best Fringe Events in the 57th Venice Biennale.