Exploring the art of ventriloquism and its inherent tensions between sight and sound, puppeteer and puppet, Not I: Throwing Voices interrogates themes of agency, authorship, and objecthood. This exhibition challenges the viewer with questions: Where does the voice originate? How are voices fragmented across multiple bodies? And who is speaking for whom?

Using ventriloquism as both subject and metaphor, the exhibition arranges dialogues across LACMA’s collections, focusing on the misdirection of voice, silence, and resonance. Here, objects take on roles of cultural spokespersons, reflecting the broader histories of institutions—museums, libraries—tasked with curating and conveying knowledge.

Rejecting the traditional emphasis on singular masterpieces, Not I privileges interactions between objects and includes a special collaboration with the Los Angeles Public Library by Meriç Algün, alongside new commissions by Raven Chacon, Patricia Fernández, and Puppies Puppies.

Exhibition identity and publication. Spiral bound, 152 pages, 7.9 × 10.6 inches.

Edited with text by José Luis Blondet. Text by Darby English, Amy Gerstler, Sarah Kessler, Christina Catherine Martinez, Alan Page. Published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.