We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-1985 facts for kids
We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85 was an exhibition held at the Brooklyn Museum of Art from April 21, 2017, through September 17, 2017 surveying the last twenty years of black female art. The exhibition was organized thematically, presenting forty artists and activists whose work was dedicated to the fight against racism, sexism, homophobia, and class injustice.
Contents
The structure of the exhibition
We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85 was presented by the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum, organized by Senior Curator Catherine Morris, former Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art Rujeko Hockley, with Curatorial Assistant Allie Rickard. The exhibition was part of A Year of Yes: Reimagining Feminism at the Brooklyn Museum, a yearlong series of exhibitions celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. Leadership support was provided by Elizabeth A. Sackler, the Ford Foundation, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Anne Klein, the Calvin Klein Family Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Mary Jo and Ted Shen and an anonymous donor. Financial support was also provided by Annette Blum, the Taylor Foundation, the Antonia and Vladimir Kulaev Cultural Heritage Fund, Beth Dozoretz, The Cowles Charitable Trust, and Almine Rech Gallery.
Among the diverse media showcased were conceptual art, performance, film, video, printmaking, photography, and painting. Despite substantial distinctions between these mediums, the exhibition's overarching objective of amplifying the voices of Black female artists and shedding light on the oppression faced by Black female or non-binary artists within the art world and broader culture unified the showcased artworks. "We Wanted a Revolution" encompassed nine sections, each dedicated to a particular theme or medium.
Artists and movements
Spiral and The Black Arts Movement
Spiral is a group of Black artists that was active between 1963 and 1965. It was formed by Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, Hale Woodruff and Charles Alston on July 5, 1963.
Emma Amos, born 1938
Emma Amos was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1938. She is an African American postmodernist painter and printmaker. Some of her works were exhibited including:
- Flower Sniffer, 1966
- Sandy and Her Husband, 1973
Elizabeth Catlett, 1915–2012
Elizabeth Catlett was a Mexican-American Modernist sculptor whose subject matter was often concentrated on black female experience. Elizabeth was born in Washington, D.C.
- Homage to My Young Black Sisters, 1968
Jeff Donaldson, 1932–2004
Jeff Donaldson was an African-American visual artist of the Black Arts Movement.
- Wives of Shango, 1969
- "Africobra: African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists; 10 in Search of a Nation" Black World 19, no. 12 (October 1970)
Rudy Irwin (Baba Kachenga), d. 1969
- WEUSI Art Creators, undated
Jae Jarrell, born 1935
- Ebony Family, 1968
- Urban Wall Suit, 1969
Wadsworth A. Jarrell, born 1929
- Revolutionary, 1971
Lois Mailou Jones, 1905–1998
- Ode to Kinshasa, 1972
- Ubi Girl from Tai Region, 1972
Lary Neal, 1937–1981
- "Any Day Now: Black Art and Black Liberation", Ebony (August 1969)
Faith Ringgold, born 1930
- Early Works #25: Self-Portrait, 1965
Jeanne Siegel, 1929–2013
- "Why Spiral?" Artnews 65, no.5 (September 1966)
- First Group Showing: Works in Black and White, 1963
- Jet, 1971
- Weusi Group Portrait, 1970s
Prints and Posters
Emma Amos, born 1938
- Summer 1968, 1968
Kay Brown, 1932–2012
- Sister with Braids, the late 1960s – early 1970s
- Willowbrook, 1972
Elizabeth Catlett, 1915–2012
- Malcolm X Speaks for Us, 1969
- Harriet, 1975
- There Is a Woman in Every Color, 1975
- Madonna, 1982
Barbara Jones-Hogu, born 1938
- I'm Better Than These ..., 1970
- Nation Time, 1970
- Relate to Your Heritage, 1971
- Unite, 1971
- Black Men We Need You, 1971
Carolyn Lawrence, born 1940
- Uphold Your Men, 1971
Samella Lewis, born 1924
- Family, 1967
- Field, 1968
"Where We At" Black Women Artists
Kay Brown, 1932–2012
- "Where We At' Black Women Artists". Feminist Art Journal 1, no. 1 (April 1972)
- Kick of Life, 1974
- She Sees No Evil; She Hears No Evil; She Speaks No Evil, 1982
- Sister Alone in a Rented Room, undated
Carole Byard, 1941–2017
- Yasmina and the Moon, 1975
Pat Davis
- "Where We At' Black Women Artists" digital C-print, 1980
Pat Minardi, born 1942
- "Open Hearing at Brooklyn Museum", Feminist Art Journal (April 1972)
Dinga McCannon, born 1947
- Revolutionary Sister, 1971
- Morning After, 1973
- Empress Akweke, 1975
"Where We At" Black Women Artists Inc., founded 1971
- Cookin' and Smokin', 1972
- "Where We At": A Tribe of Black Women Artists, 1973
- "Where We At" Black Women Artists Letterhead, 1980
Black Feminism
Some of the participants in the section were:
- James Baldwin, 1924–1987
- Audre Lorde, 1934–1992
- Lorraine Bethel
- Barbara Smith, born 1946
- Vivian E. Browne, 1929–1993
- Elizabeth Catlett, 1915–2012
- Claudia Chapline, born 1930
- Barbara Chase-Rebound, born 1939
- Maren Hassinger, born 194
- Leonard Levitt, born 1941
- Samella Lewis, born 1924
- Toni Morrison, born 1931
- Faith Ringgold, born 1930
- Bettye Saar, born 1926
- Margaret Sloan, 1947–2004
- Gloria Steinem, born 1934
- Alice Walker, born in 1944
- Michele Wallace, born 1952
Art World Activism
Some of the participants in the section were:
- The Committee to Defend the Judson Three, founded in 1971
- Flo Kennedy, 1916-2000
- Gerald Lefcourt, born 1941
- Robert Projansky
- Pat Mainardi, born 1942
- Black Emergency Cultural Coalition, founded in 1969
- Linda Goode Bryant, 1949
- Carol Duncan, born 1936
- Grace Glueck, born 1926
- Janet Henry, born 1947
- Luce R. Lippard, born 1937
- Donald Newman, born 1955
- Howardena Pindell, born 1943
- James Reinish
- Ingrid Sischy, (born in South Africa, 1952–2015)
- Helen Winer, born 1946
- Faith Ringgold, born 1930
- Jan Van Raay, born 1942
- Michele Wallace, born 1952
- Women Artists in Revolution, founded in 1969
- Ad Hoc Women Artists' Committee, founded 1970
- Women Students and Artists for Black Art Liberation, founded in 1970
Public programs
Symposium was held at the Brooklyn Museum of Art on April 21, 2017. As a part of the exhibition events, the art historian Kellie Jones, author and feminist theory scholar Aruna D'Souza, and Black cultural studies academic Uri McMillan gave speeches and participated in a panel discussion.
Sponsorship and funding
The exhibition was funded by the Ford Foundation, the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, the Brooklyn Museum’s Contemporary Art Acquisitions Committee, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, and the Barbara Lee Family Foundation.
