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One Fine Show: “John Akomfrah, The Hour Of The Dog” at the Menil Collection

Playing purposefully fast and loose with authenticity, this six-channel video installation weaves together archival footage from the 1954-1963 Civil Rights era and modern material the artist shot on a soundstage.

It’s foolish to try to explain anything anyone does on Instagram, but this year’s earlier trend of posting pictures of oneself from 2016 struck me as an impulse that originated from a yen for authenticity. The posting of these images seemed to imply that in today’s influencer-centric, A.I.-generated world, our images back then could be more readily believed, because nobody was trying to sell you as many products, and the algorithms were less good at knowing what images could hypnotize us. Also we were younger then, yes, and many of us much more attractive.

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But that authenticity impulse informs “John Akomfrah: The Hour of the Dog,” now........

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