The 36th Chamber

The letter B featured in the center of The 36th Chamber comes from the Supreme Alphabet of the Five Percent Nation, a social movement highly influential in early hip hop that advocated for the pursuit of knowledge. In the Supreme Alphabet, the letter B signifies “to be” or “be born.” For Tecosky, it also represents a range of other words that begin with B, many of which are recorded in the paint on the wall. Like a hip hop album, The 36th Chamber samples several different references. Its title comes from the kung fu movie The 36th Chamber of Shaolin and the Wutang Clan album that it inspired. Central to the movie, the album, and Tecosky’s work is the idea of bringing knowledge to the people. The piece is also the 36th artwork created through the Museum’s prestigious Rakow Commission program.