In recent years, Brooklyn has played host to many art exhibitions at major museums and various galleries and spaces. Some of those exhibitions have been highly controversial, such as the Chris Ofili show at the Brooklyn Museum in 1999, which sparked protests and even an attack on one of the paintings. People from around the world head to Brooklyn, my hometown, to see what's up in art and performance.

I'd read about Worthless Studios in East Williamsburg/Bushwick, which is currently displaying the highly unusual 1-800-Happy-Birthday exhibition, and I knew I had to find time to see this. This is an interactive piece that focuses on the memories of several "Black and Brown victims of Police Killings and Systemic Racism," such as Eric Garner, Philando Castile, and others. There is a dedicated payphone booth for each person, and when you pick up the receiver, you hear birthday greetings (posthumously) to each. There is also a living room with mementos from each person, a display rack with birthday cards featuring the people remembered here, a huge painted mural which groups them together, and other ephemera. 

It is unlike any other art exhibition I've seen, and I've seen hundreds, including many that were unique and lightning rod in format and material. This show is somber yet oddly celebratory. Even the name Worthless Studios is meant to grab your attention. 

I showed up on Friday, December 16, a rainy and gray day. There were only two other visitors to the studios when I strolled around. A few of these dead people I'd known about when they were killed because the circumstances were highly newsworthy and even took place in New York City, while others were unfamiliar to me. Walking through this set up, the mood matched the weather, but it was also disconcerting. You also want to focus on the memories of these people, and there are balloons, floral arrangements, and lots of photographs of each person.

This is the kind of modern art installation that people will probably have strong opinions about. Those who sympathize with the murdered people will feel pain, pity, anger, and wonder what their lives could have been later on. Those who side with the police involved in the shootings will have a different opinion. 

Black Lives Matter versus White Supremacists.

ACAB versus Support the Blue.

The news media hoopla versus private mourning.

People get all caught up in the socio-political aspects of these stories, but this exhibition also homes in on the individuals and their families and friends. That's why it is particularly unusual and has an emotional wallop. 

At times I felt like I was intruding here, but obviously, the people who run this art space want us to visit, to react, to learn about and ponder racism in the United States, violence, news coverage of awful events, and so on.

Art has many roles in society. It can comfort, and it can inspire. It can enrage, and it can be a catalyst.