An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940–2017

Aug 18, 2017–Aug 27, 2018

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Beginning in the 1960s, the feminist movement grew increasingly vocal and influential. Advocating for the legal and social rights of women, it addressed reproductive freedom, domestic and sexual violence, and the family, among other pressing concerns. These works focus on feminist explorations of labor, whether in the home or workplace.

The slogan “the personal is political” became both rallying cry and directive in this period for many artists, both male and female, who often used video and photography to give visibility to their lived experiences. Suzanne Lacy and Martha Rosler employ absurdity and humor to suggest that meaning and gendered roles are socially constructed. In her Free, White and 21 (1980), Howardena Pindell details her experiences with racism and sexism in both the feminist movement and in jobs, calling attention to the specific mental and emotional labor required of people of color in white-dominated spaces. Since the 1980s, the Guerrilla Girls have unmasked the unequal status of women as art workers and fought for the inclusion of women and people of color in major art institutions. Their protest is ongoing.