Mitch Epstein and Jeffrey Gibson are included in the second presentation of the two-part exhibition Past as Prologue: A Historical Acknowledgment at the National Academy of Design. On view through April 26, the exhibition represents the Academy’s efforts towards a critical reassessment of its founding cultural context.
Part I of Past as Prologue highlighted artistic movements prominent in the Academy’s collection—19th century genre painting, landscape, and portraiture—that contributed to U.S. nation building. Starting with works from the early 20th century, Past as Prologue Part II examines how artists have envisioned a more expansive notion of cultural identity, through artworks imbued with the values of activist movements that have recast this country’s political landscape over the last century.
Some of the earliest works on view depict labor in a variety of forms, from manual to artistic, drawing a connection between labor and subsequent activist movements instrumental in advocating for social justice. Artists in the exhibition address issues of social and political inequity that have long shaped U.S. cultural life: civil rights, racial justice, gender equity, and economic justice, with a number of artworks highlighting the emotional labor that is asked of communities who have been historically othered.
To learn more about Past as Prologue: A Historical Acknowledgment Part II at the National Academy of Design, click here.