Muhheakantuck - Everything has a Name
Matthew Buckingham
March 28, 29,30, and April 4, 5, and 6, 2008
NYC Water Taxis
Photo: Matthew Buckingham
This 40-minute-long film screened aboard moving water taxis featured a single continuous shot from a helicopter as it traveled above the Hudson River. The film was accompanied by a narration by the artist meditating on the region’s turbulent history, asking the question, “What role does social memory play in defining the present moment?”
Muhheakantuck explored the social and political impact of the relatively brief but violent period of contact between Dutch colonists and the Lower Hudson River Valley’s indigenous Lenape people. By examining how maps are constructed, how places are named (and thereby owned), and what stories are left silent, the film exposes the consequences of Henry Hudson’s journey. Buckingham’s narrative reminded us that “The river that became known as the Hudson was not discovered—it was invented and re-invented.”