An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940–2017
Aug 18, 2017–Aug 27, 2018
Annette Lemieux (b. 1957), Black Mass, 1991. Latex, acrylic, and oil on canvas, 95 13/16 × 105 × 1 13/16 in. (243.4 × 266.7 × 4.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.173. © Annette Lemieux
Through the lens of the Whitney’s collection, An Incomplete History of Protest looks at how artists from the 1940s to the present have confronted the political and social issues of their day. Whether making art as a form of activism, criticism, instruction, or inspiration, the featured artists see their work as essential to challenging established thought and creating a more equitable culture. Many have sought immediate change, such as ending the war in Vietnam or combating the AIDS crisis. Others have engaged with protest more indirectly, with the long term in mind, hoping to create new ways of imagining society and citizenship.
Since its founding in the early twentieth century, the Whitney has served as a forum for the most urgent art and ideas of the day, at times attracting protest itself. An Incomplete History of Protest, however, is by name and necessity a limited account. No exhibition can approximate the activism now happening in the streets and online, and no collection can account fully for the methodological, stylistic, and political diversity of artistic address. Instead, the exhibition offers a sequence of historical case studies focused on particular moments and themes—from questions of representation to the fight for civil rights—that remain relevant today. At the root of the exhibition is the belief that artists play a profound role in transforming their time and shaping the future.
An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940–2017 is organized by David Breslin, DeMartini Family Curator and Director of the Collection; Jennie Goldstein, assistant curator; and Rujeko Hockley, assistant curator; with David Kiehl, curator emeritus; and Margaret Kross, curatorial assistant.
Major support for An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940‒2017 is provided by The American Contemporary Art Foundation, Inc., Leonard A. Lauder, President.
Significant support is provided by the Ford Foundation.
The Usable Past
8
Rather than relying on a single social issue as its organizing principle, this exhibition gathers artworks largely made after 2000 that evoke the “usable past”—the concept that a self-conscious examination of historical figures, moments, and symbols can shape current and future political formation. Many artists today are looking to the past to understand their present as well as to explore the possibilities, and the possible failure, of collective action. While some of the artworks demonstrate how memory can inform models of protest and activism now, others reveal how nostalgia can make it difficult to move forward. A 2005 film by Josephine Meckseper documents protests against the war in Iraq. By using Super 8 film, a format released in 1965, Meckseper imbues a contemporary action with a 1960s aesthetic. The film suggests both that yesterday’s counterculture can become today’s style and that we can learn from the past to address the needs of the present.
While initially resembling a purely abstract painting, Mark Bradford’s Constitution III (2013) contains excerpts from the United States Constitution. His embedding of this language within an aggressively worked surface suggests that the founding document is also a living one, subject to modification and debate. Similarly, Julie Mehretu’s Epigraph, Damascus (2016) embraces abstraction to convey content about the present. Under a swirl of black lines, the artist depicts architectural drawings of historic buildings in the Syrian capital, the center of a civil war since 2011. Presenting a place that is being transformed by violence, her work asks: Are we seeing buildings that are now gone? Could intervention have prevented this calamity? What do we learn from crisis?
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (b. 1940), Celebrate 40,000 Years of American Art, 1995
Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Celebrate 40,000 Years of American Art, 1995. Collagraph, 76 1/2 x 53 in. (194.3 x 134.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation 2000.191. Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York
Events
View all-
Wed,
July 18
Member Night
7:30–10 pm
-
Fri,
June 15
Pride at the Whitney
7–9 pm
-
Wed,
Apr 18
Immigrant Justice Night
4–6 pm
-
Fri,
Feb 16
Verbal Description and Touch Tour: An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940–2017
10–11:30 am
-
Sat,
Feb 10
Contemporaries Winter Brunch
11 am
-
Sat,
Feb 10
Stroller Tour:
An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940–2017
9:30–10:30 am
Whitney Stories
-
An Incomplete History of Protest:
Jeffrey Gibson on Howardena PindellRead more"Is it a form of activism to expose yourself?" asks artist Jeffrey Gibson, as he discusses Howardena Pindell's video work Free, White and 21.
-
An Incomplete History of Protest:
Gran Fury's Tom Kalin on Hock E Aye VI Edgar Heap of BirdsRead moreTom Kalin of the AIDS activist collective Gran Fury responds to American Policy, a series of pastel drawings by Cheyenne/Arapaho artist Hock E Aye VI Edgar Heap of Birds and discusses language-based artwork.
-
An Incomplete History of Protest:
Shellyne Rodriguez on Ja'Tovia GaryRead moreArtist and activist Shellyne Rodriguez responds to Ja’Tovia Gary’s film An Ecstatic Experience and discusses how the work explores strategies for survival in the current political moment.
-
An Incomplete History of Protest:
Dread Scott on Badlands UnlimitedRead morePublisher Badlands Unlimited and artist Paul Chan produced The New No's in response to the 2016 election. Here, Dread Scott discusses why he thinks of the work as a beacon for other artists to follow.
Audio guides
Annette Lemieux (b. 1957), Black Mass, 1991. Latex, acrylic, and oil on canvas, 95 13/16 × 105 × 1 13/16 in. (243.4 × 266.7 × 4.6 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; promised gift of Emily Fisher Landau P.2010.173. © Annette Lemieux
“I make revolutionary art to propel history forward. I’m a visual artist.”
—Dread Scott
Hear directly from artists including Dread Scott, and Senga Nengudi as they discuss their work in An Incomplete History of Protest: Selections from the Whitney’s Collection, 1940–2017. Listen to additional commentary from curators on selected highlights from the exhibition.
Installation Photography
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, top to bottom: Pro-Arts, Inc., Peace Needs No Excuse, 1970; Women Strike for Peace, Stop Bombing, c.1967–70; Irving White, Our foreign policy must always be an extension of this nation’s domestic policy…, 1968; Atomic Energy Group, “The streets of our country are in turmoil…”, 1970; Unidentified artist, Cry Freedom, 1967; Women Strike for Peace, End the Draft!, c.1967–70; Josephine Meckseper, March on Washington to End the War on Iraq, 9/24/05, 2005. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Dread Scott (b. 1965), A Man Was Lynched by Police Yesterday, 2015 (installation view, Whitney Museum of American Art). Nylon, 84 1/2 x 52 1/2 x 1/8 in. (214.6 x 133.4 x 0.3 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Director’s Discretionary Fund T.2017.262. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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, top to bottom: Ad Reinhardt, Abstract Painting, 1960–66; May Stevens, Dark Flag, 1976; Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, The Racist Dog Policemen Must Withdraw Immediately from Our Communities…, c.1970; Gordon Parks, Black Panther Headquarters, San Francisco, California, 1970; Bandaged Hands, Muhammad Ali, 1966; Louis H. Draper, Malcolm X, 369th Armory, Harlem, New York, 1964; Louis H. Draper, Fannie Lou Hamer, Mississippi, 1971; Bruce Davidson, Untitled (Khrushchev can eat here, Why Can’t We), Birmingham, Alabama, 1963; Toyo Miyatake, Watchtower, c.1943; Toyo Miyatake, Untitled (Open Image from Valediction), 1944; Toyo Miyatake, Untitled (Memorial Service at Memorial Monument, Manzanar, c.1945; Toyo Miyatake, Classroom—Visual Education, 1944. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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, top to bottom: Nancy Grossman, Head 1968, 1968; Larry Clark, (No title), 1963 (printed 1980); Larry Clark, (No title), 1963 (printed 1980); Larry Clark, (No title), 1963 (printed 1980); Larry Fink, Beatniks, 1958; Larry Fink, Beatniks, 1958; Larry Fink, Beatniks: Tula and Mary, 1958; Larry Fink, Beatniks, 1958; Peter Moore, March for Freedom of Expression, New York, Protesters in a Line, 1964; Peter Moore, March for Freedom of Expression, New York, Peter Orlovsky and Allen Ginsberg, 1964. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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: Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, The Racist Dog Policemen Must Withdraw Immediately from Our Communities…, c.1970; Charles B. Hinman, Red Figure, 1967; William N. Copley, Untitled (Think/flag), 1967; Allan D’Arcangelo, Dipped, 1967; Nancy Grossman, Head 1968, 1968. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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: Carol Summers, Kill for Peace, 1967; Louise Nevelson, Composition, 1967; Adja Yunkers, Aegean I, 1966; Ad Reinhardt, No War, 1967; Irving Petlin, Skin, 1967; Jack Sonenberg, Literal Dimensions, 1967; Leon Golub, Killed Youth, 1967; May Stevens, Dark Flag, 1976. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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: Senga Nengudi, Internal I, 1977 (refabricated 2014); May Stevens, Dark Flag, 1976. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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, top to bottom: Edward Kienholz, The Non War Memorial, 1970; Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, Hell No We Won’t Go, c.1969; Unidentified artist, Unite, c.1965–70; Women Strike for Peace, Stop the War, c.1967–70; Leif Skoogfors, John Kerry, 1971; Pro-Arts, Inc., Your Tax Dollars at Work, 1969; Janos Dannavitz, The War Makes Me Sick, 1967; New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, No Christmas-as-usual, c.1971; Students for a Democratic Society, Come to Detroit Nov. 3, Elections are a Hoax…, 1970; Unidentified artist, Tin soldiers and Nixon coming… (Kent State), 1971; Yoko Ono and John Lennon, War is Over! If You Want It, 1969; International Union of Students, Stop U.S. Dirty War in Viet Nam, 1966; Lambert Studios, Inc., War Is Good Business, Invest Your Son, 1969; Unidentified artist, The United States government must end its systematic oppressions of political dissidents…, 1970; Brian Shannon, …But You Can’t Fool All of the People All the Time, 1971; Napalm Graphics, Johnson Pull Out Like Your Father Should Have, 1967; Kiyoshi Kuroyima, Fuck the Draft, 1968; Vietnam Peace Parade Committee, They can do anything we let them get away with…, 1971; Unidentified artist, Cambodia Too?, 1970; Tom Lafferty and Ken Deardoff, War is Hell! As the Man Who Fought One, 1968; Antioch Bookplate Co., Help Free America from Our Tragic Involvement in Vietnam, 1969; Clergy and Laymen Concerned, Is This What You’d Call “Phased Withdrawal?”, 1972; Vietnam Referendum ’70 Committee, Let the People Vote on War!, 1970; Michael Lynne, Give a Damn, Mend America, 1968; Robert L. Ross, Eat Me, 1967; Pro-Arts, Inc., Peace Needs No Excuse, 1970; Women Strike for Peace, Stop Bombing, c.1967–70; Richard Avedon and Marvin Israel, Who Has a Better Right to Oppose the War?, 1969; Gross National Product, Resist, 1968; Unidentified artist, Untitled, 1970; Women Strike for Peace, No More…Stop the War!, c.1967–70; Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, Would You Buy a Used WAR from This Man?, 1969; New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, Rich Man’s War, the People Pay, 1967; Northern California Peace Action Coalition, March & Rally against the War…, c.1960–70; Irving White, Our foreign policy must always be an extension of this nation’s domestic policy…, 1968; Atomic Energy Group, “The streets of our country are in turmoil…”, 1970; A. Lunsford, “Those who have had a chance for four years…”, 1972; Robert Owen Bastian, Untitled, c.1965–70; National Peace Action Coalition, 25 Years After, 1970; Unidentified artist, Help End Demonstrations, 1968; Unidentified artist, March against Death, Peace Pilgrimage, San Francisco, Nov. 15, 1969, 1969; Pandora Productions, The Vacation Visit Beautiful Vietnam, 1966; United Women’s Contingent, “When Women Decide This War Should End, This War Will End”, 1971; Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, Out of S.E. Asia Now! Join the SMC, 1969; Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, U.S. out of Vietnam Now! Bring All the GI’s Home Now, 1970; The Union of Vietnamese in the United States, Nguyen Thai-Binh. Born: 1948—Assassinated: July 2, 1972, c.1972; Unidentified artist, Give Peace a Chance, 1969; Unidentified artist, The Battle of My Lai, 1971; Unidentified artist, “Never think that war, no matter how necessary nor how justified, is not a crime…”, 1970; Don Peterson, Untitled (Toronto), 1968; Student Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, “We are 1,366 active-duty servicemen. We are opposed to the American involvement in the war in Vietnam…”, 1969; Unidentified artist, Save Lives, Not Face, 1967; Unidentified artist, Cry Freedom, 1967; Women Strike for Peace, End the Draft!, c.1967–70; Sigmund Abeles, Vietnam Summer 1967, 1967; Vietnam Day Committee, University of California, Berkeley, Rock & Roll Benefit Dance…The Jefferson Airplane, 1966; William Weege, Napalm, 1967; Greg Daily, Peace Victory, 1971; Mierle Laderman Ukeles, I Make Maintenance Art One Hour Every Day, September 16–October 20, 1976. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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, top to bottom: Mierle Laderman Ukeles, I Make Maintenance Art One Hour Every Day, September 16–October 20, 1976; Martha Rosler, Semiotics of the Kitchen, 1975; Guerrilla Girls, Bus Companies Are More Enlightened than NYC Art Galleries., 1989; Guerrilla Girls, Guerrilla Girls’ Pop Quiz., 1990; Guerrilla Girls, Missing in Action, 1991; Guerrilla Girls, How Many Women Had One-Person Exhibitions at NYC Museums Last Year?, 1985; Guerrilla Girls, If You’re Raped, You Might as Well “Relax and Enjoy It,” Because No One Will Believe You!, 1992; Guerrilla Girls, You’re Seeing Less than Half the Picture, 1989; Guerrilla Girls, Women in America Earn Only 2/3 of What Men Do, 1985; Guerrilla Girls, These Galleries Show No More than 10% Women Artists or None at All, 1985; Guerrilla Girls, At Last! Museums Will No Longer Discriminate against Women and Minority Artists, 1988; Guerrilla Girls, Guerrilla Girls Identities Exposed!, 1990; Guerrilla Girls, Top Ten Ways to Tell if You’re an Art World Token, 1995; Guerrilla Girls, The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist, 1988; Guerrilla Girls, We Sell White Bread, 1987; Guerrilla Girls, Traditional Values and Quality Return to the Whitney Museum, 1995; Guerrilla Girls, Guerrilla Girls Hits List, 1986; Guerrilla Girls, Supreme Court Justice Supports Right to Privacy for Gays and Lesbians., 1992; Suzanne Lacy, Learn Where the Meat Comes From, 1976. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Mierle Laderman Ukeles (b. 1939), detail of I Make Maintenance Art One Hour Every Day, September 16–October 20, 1976 (installation view, Whitney Museum of American Art). Performance with three hundred maintenance employees, day and night shifts, over five weeks, 720 collaged dye diffusion transfer prints with self-adhesive labels, graphite pencil, collaged acrylic on board, and self-adhesive vinyl on paper. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from the Photography Committee and The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation T.2017.2. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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, top to bottom: General Idea, AIDS, 1988; Hermine Freed, Art Herstory, 1974; Fred Lonidier, The Health and Safety Game: (Title panel), 1976/1978; Fred Lonidier, The Health and Safety Game: Cove Oven Worker’s Lung, This Lung Stays Home, 1976/1978; Fred Lonidier, The Health and Safety Game: Ex-Marine and Truck Driver’s Feet, 1976/1978; Fred Lonidier, The Health and Safety Game: Insulator and Brick Mason’s Skin, 1976/1978; Fred Lonidier, The Health and Safety Game: Dental Technician’s Legs, 1976/1978; Fred Lonidier, The Health and Safety Game: Lead Worker’s Blood, 1976/1978; Fred Lonidier, The Health and Safety Game: Manufacturing Engineer’s Heart, 1976/1978; Fred Lonidier, The Health and Safety Game: Office Worker’s Nerve, 1976/1978. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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: Suzanne Lacy, Learn Where the Meat Comes From, 1976; Guerrilla Girls, Guerrilla Girls Review the Whitney, 1987; Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled”, 1989; AA Bronson, Felix Partz, June 5, 1994, 1994/1999. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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: Suzanne Lacy, Learn Where the Meat Comes From, 1976; Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled”, 1989; Keith Haring, Ignorance = Fear / Silence = Death, 1989. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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; Hock E Aye VI Edgar Heap of Birds, Relocate Destroy, In Memory of Native Americans, In Memory of Jews, 1987. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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: Gary Simmons, Green Chalkboard (Triple X), 1993; Daniel Joseph Martinez, Divine Violence, 2007. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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 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: Kara Walker, Confederate Prisoners Being Conducted from Jonesborough to Atlanta, 2005; Kara Walker, Alabama Loyalists Greeting the Federal Gun-Boats, 2005; Kara Walker, Exodus of Confederates from Atlanta, 2005; Jeffrey Gibson, I Know You Have A Lot of Strength Left, 2017; Andrea Bowers, Wall of Letters: Necessary Reminders from the Past for a Future of Choice #5, 2006. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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; Julie Mehretu, Epigraph, Damascus, 2016; Andrea Bowers, San Luis Obispo County Telegraph-Tribune, September 14, 1981, 2004; Andrea Bowers, Non-violent Protest Training, Abalone Alliance Camp, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, 1981, 2004; Glenn Ligon, Untitled (Speech/Crowd) #2, 2000. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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: Ja’Tovia Gary, An Ecstatic Experience, 2015; Mark Bradford, Constitution III, 2013; Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Celebrate 40,000 Years of American Art, 1995. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
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: Badlands Unlimited and Paul Chan, New No’s, 2016; Ja’Tovia Gary, An Ecstatic Experience, 2015. Photograph by Ron Amstutz
Explore works from this exhibition
in the Whitney's collection
View 213 works
In the News
"An Incomplete History of Protest examines how artists have become activists in order to help create a better future.”
—The Guardian
“Get To Know An Incomplete History Of Protest at the Whitney”
—NYLON
“The Whitney Museum’s latest exhibition takes a creative approach to political and social activism, and how the past can inform the present.”
—WWD
“At the root of the exhibition is the belief that artists play a profound role in transforming their time and shaping the future.”
—blouinartinfo