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

Aug 18, 2017–Aug 27, 2018

Exhibition works

8 total
Abuse of Power
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Abuse of Power

A grouping of medals and trophies.
A grouping of medals and trophies.

Carl Pope (b. 1961), Some of the Greatest Hits of the New York City Police Department: A Celebration of Meritorious Achievement in Community Service, 1994. Engraved trophies, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Carl and Karen Pope, Christopher and Ann Stack, and A. W. Stuart 95.82. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Abuse of Power

In the 1990s, artists witnessed the persistence of racialized violence in American society and responded with newfound urgency. Two groundbreaking and controversial exhibitions at the Whitney, the 1993 Biennial and Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art (1994), tackled this issue directly. The Museum acquired works by Mel Chin and Carl Pope after they were shown in Black Male. Purposefully confrontational, the artists and their artworks speak unapologetically about painful aspects of American history and question state-sanctioned systems of authority. These works are exhibited  here with the understanding that this history of systemic violence is not past. For many Americans, it is all too well known and personally felt. 

A grouping of medals and trophies.
A grouping of medals and trophies.

Carl Pope (b. 1961), Some of the Greatest Hits of the New York City Police Department: A Celebration of Meritorious Achievement in Community Service, 1994. Engraved trophies, dimensions variable. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Carl and Karen Pope, Christopher and Ann Stack, and A. W. Stuart 95.82. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Carl Pope (b. 1961), Some of the Greatest Hits of the New York City Police Department: A Celebration of Meritorious Achievement in the Community, 1994

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

Installation view of An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940–2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, August 18, 2017–). From left to right: Tim Rollins and K.O.S., The Whiteness of the Whale II (after Herman Melville), 1991; Carl Pope, Some of the Greatest Hits of the New York City Police Department: A Celebration of Meritorious Achievement in Community Service, 1994. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view

Handwritten text that says "Relocate Destroy" in black and red.
Handwritten text that says "Relocate Destroy" in black and red.

Edgar Heap of Birds (b. 1954), Relocate Destroy, In Memory of Native Americans, In Memory of Jews, 1987, from the series American Policy. Pastel on paper, 22 × 29 13/16 in. (55.9 × 75.7 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Dorothee Peiper-Riegraf and Hinrich Peiper 2007.91

Edgar Heap of Birds (b. 1954), Relocate Destroy, In Memory of Native Americans, In Memory of Jews, 1987

Installed as part of an earlier version of the exhibition.

An installation view of artworks in a gallery.
An installation view of artworks in a gallery.

Daniel Joseph Martinez, Divine Violence, 2007 (Installation view, Whitney Museum of American Art). Automotive paint on wooden panels, 153 x 275 x 187 in. (388.6 x 698.5 x 475 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Painting and Sculpture Committee, with additional funds from Neil Bluhm, Melva Bucksbaum, Philip Geier, Jr., Nicki Harris, Allison Kanders and Pamela Sanders 2008.289a-d. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Daniel Joseph Martinez (b. 1957), Divine Violence, 2007

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

Installation view of An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940–2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, August 18, 2017–). From left to right: Emma Amos, Coloring Lesson, 1995; Gary Simmons, Green Chalkboard (Triple X), 1993; Daniel Joseph Martinez, Divine Violence, 2007; Mel Chin, “HOME y SEW 9”, 1994. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view

Installation view of An Incomplete History of Protest
Installation view of An Incomplete History of Protest

Installation view of An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940-2017 (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, August 18, 2017–). From left to right: Annette Lemieux, Black Mass, 1991; Emma Amos, Coloring Lesson, 1995; Gary Simmons, Green Chalkboard (Triple X), 1993. Photograph by Ron Amstutz

Installation view

Artists

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On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Frank WANG Yefeng, The Levitating Perils #2

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Learn more at whitney.org/artport

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