"An exploratory case study in institutional racism as it has manifested in the New York City art world” —Brooklyn Rail
In 2017, the Whitney Biennial included a painting by a white artist, Dana Schutz, of the lynched body of a young black child, Emmett Till. In 1979, anger brewed over a show at New York’s Artists Space entitled The Nigger Drawings. In 1969, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition Harlem on My Mind did not include a single work by a black artist. In all three cases, black artists and writers and their allies organized vigorous responses using the only forum available to them: public protest.
Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts reflects on these three incidents in the long and troubled history of art and race in America. It lays bare how the art world—no less than the country at large—has persistently struggled with the politics of race, and the ways this struggle has influenced how museums, curators and artists wrestle with notions of free speech and the specter of censorship. Whitewalling takes a critical and intimate look at these three “acts” in the history of the American art scene and asks: when we speak of artistic freedom and the freedom of speech, who, exactly, is free to speak?
Aruna D’Souza writes about modern and contemporary art, food and culture; intersectional feminisms and other forms of politics; how museums shape our views of each other and the world; and books. Her work appears regularly in 4Columns.org, where she is a member of the editorial advisory board, as well as in publications including the Wall Street Journal, ARTnews, Garage, Bookforum, Momus and Art Practical. D'Souza is the editor of the forthcoming Making it Modern: A Linda Nochlin Reader.
Featured image is reproduced from 'Whitewalling: Art, Race, & Protest in 3 Acts.'
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Publisher's Weekly
this book could become an essential primer in discussions about exclusion, free speech, and the power of institutions in the art world and outside it.
Former Executive Director of Queens Museum
Laura Raicovich
Remarkable for its clarity, lightness of touch, fearlessness, and righteous research.
Director, UCLA African Studies Center, Professor of African and African American Art History
Steven Nelson
Amazing
Publishers Weekly
An impressively nuanced exploration of the relationship between art and race in America.
Garage
Tiana Reid
If resistance can be welcomed at all, [D'Souza] is clearly striving to do so.
New York Times
Jennifer Szalai
Whitewalling is a laser beam of a book, unwavering and on target.
ArtReview Asia
Harry Burke
Whitewalling sets a generative precedent.
The Brooklyn Rail
Nico Wheadon
Author Aruna D’Souza offers an uncensored look at the role black artists, activists, and their allies have played in forging more equitable practices within the field of contemporary art.
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Tuesday, October 9 at 7:30PM, the Hammer Museum presents Whitewalling author Aruna D’Souza in conversation with artist Tomashi Jackson. Taking off from the premise of the book—which reflects on three exhibitions (at the Met, Artists Space and the Whitney) that shook the art world—this discussion will focus on the question: When we speak of artistic freedom and freedom of speech, who, exactly, is free to speak? continue to blog
Thursday, May 24 at 7 PM, McNally Jackson Soho presents a reading and booksigning of Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts by Aruna D'Souza. Whitewalling is a gripping account of three incidents in the long and troubled history of art and race in America. It lays bare how the art world—no less than the country at large—has persistently struggled with the politics of race, and the ways this struggle has influenced how museums, curators and artists wrestle with notions of free speech and the specter of censorship. With illustrations by artists Parker Bright and Pastiche Lumumba. D'Souza will do a reading from the book followed by a short conversation with Paul Chan, publisher of Badlands Unlimited. continue to blog
FORMAT: Pbk, 6 x 9 in. / 160 pgs. LIST PRICE: U.S. $19.99 LIST PRICE: CANADA $27.99 ISBN: 9781943263141 PUBLISHER: Badlands Unlimited AVAILABLE: 5/22/2018 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA LA ASIA AU/NZ AFR ME
Published by Badlands Unlimited. By Aruna D'Souza.
"An exploratory case study in institutional racism as it has manifested in the New York City art world” —Brooklyn Rail
In 2017, the Whitney Biennial included a painting by a white artist, Dana Schutz, of the lynched body of a young black child, Emmett Till. In 1979, anger brewed over a show at New York’s Artists Space entitled The Nigger Drawings. In 1969, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition Harlem on My Mind did not include a single work by a black artist. In all three cases, black artists and writers and their allies organized vigorous responses using the only forum available to them: public protest.
Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts reflects on these three incidents in the long and troubled history of art and race in America. It lays bare how the art world—no less than the country at large—has persistently struggled with the politics of race, and the ways this struggle has influenced how museums, curators and artists wrestle with notions of free speech and the specter of censorship. Whitewalling takes a critical and intimate look at these three “acts” in the history of the American art scene and asks: when we speak of artistic freedom and the freedom of speech, who, exactly, is free to speak?
Aruna D’Souza writes about modern and contemporary art, food and culture; intersectional feminisms and other forms of politics; how museums shape our views of each other and the world; and books. Her work appears regularly in 4Columns.org, where she is a member of the editorial advisory board, as well as in publications including the Wall Street Journal, ARTnews, Garage, Bookforum, Momus and Art Practical. D'Souza is the editor of the forthcoming Making it Modern: A Linda Nochlin Reader.
