Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts - by Aruna D'Souza (Paperback)

About the Book

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 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?

Book Synopsis

"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.

Review Quotes

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.-- "Publisher's Weekly"

Amazing--Steven Nelson "Director, UCLA African Studies Center, Professor of African and African American Art History"

An impressively nuanced exploration of the relationship between art and race in America.-- "Publishers Weekly"

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.--Nico Wheadon "The Brooklyn Rail"

If resistance can be welcomed at all, [D'Souza] is clearly striving to do so.--Tiana Reid "Garage"

Remarkable for its clarity, lightness of touch, fearlessness, and righteous research.--Laura Raicovich "Former Executive Director of Queens Museum"

Whitewalling is a laser beam of a book, unwavering and on target.--Jennifer Szalai "New York Times"

Whitewalling sets a generative precedent.--Harry Burke "ArtReview Asia"