Art History from Home:
Art and Social Change
Art and Social Change
Tues, July 20, 2021
6 pm
Alice Neel, Pat Whalen, 1935. Oil, ink, and newspaper on canvas: 27 1/8 × 23 1/8 in. (68.9 × 58.7 cm); image, 26 3/4 × 22 7/8 in. (67.9 × 58.1 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Dr. Hartley Neel 81.12. © The Estate of Alice Neel. Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London
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This event will have automated closed captions through Zoom. Live captioning is available for public programs and events upon request with seven business days advance notice. We will make every effort to provide accommodation for requests made outside of that window of time. To place a request, please contact us at accessfeedback@whitney.org or (646) 666-5574 (voice). Relay and voice calls welcome.
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Online, via Zoom
This series of online talks by the Whitney’s Joan Tisch Teaching Fellows highlights works in the Museum’s collection and current exhibitions to illuminate critical topics in American art from 1900 to the present. During each thirty-minute session, participants are invited to comment and ask questions through a moderated chat for a fifteen-minute Q&A following the talk. Sessions are available live only, Tuesdays at 6 pm and Thursdays at 12 pm, but topics and speakers do periodically repeat. Check back here for more sessions added regularly.
Art exists in relation to its particular social moment. Whether representing the current reality or leveraging its power to challenge cultural narratives, it can inspire emotional responses and critical thinking in a way distinct from traditional political methods. Through work in the Whitney’s collection, we will explore the different roles art has played in the United States during the twentieth century, addressing issues from immigration to economic justice to sexism and racism.
Grant Johnson is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of art history at the University of Southern California and a Joan Tisch Teaching Fellow at the Whitney. His dissertation, “Sheila Hicks: Weaving to the World,” traces the first critical history of the prolific American artist, weaver, and pioneer of global contemporary art. An active curator, critic, and writer, he has published work in Artforum, Frieze, The Brooklyn Rail, Garage, and Performa Magazine, where he was a writer-in-residence from 2012 to 2014.