Agitprop! at Brooklyn Museum, December 11, 2015 – August 7, 2016

“The term agitprop emerged from the Russian Revolution almost a hundred years ago, combining the words agitation and propaganda to describe art practices intended to incite social change. Since that time, artists across the ideological and global landscape have adopted modes of expression that can be widely reproduced and disseminated. Agitprop! features a full range of these materials, from photography and film to prints and banners to street actions and songs, TV shows, social media, and performances. Connecting current creative practices with strategies from the early twentieth century, these projects show artists responding to the pressing questions of their day and seeking to motivate broad, diverse audiences.” — Brooklyn Museum

Stuart J. Mare. National Woman’s Party billboard in Denver, Colorado, 1916. Photograph, 6 1/2 x 9 in. (16.5 x 22.9 cm). Sewall-Belmont House & Museum, Washington, D.C.

Stuart J. Mare. National Woman’s Party billboard in Denver, Colorado, 1916. Photograph, 6 1/2 x 9 in. (16.5 x 22.9 cm). Sewall-Belmont House & Museum, Washington, D.C.

Shadow of the Plowman. Photograph, 1935. 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm). WPA Federal Theatre Project, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington D.C., ML31.F44

Shadow of the Plowman. Photograph, 1935. 8 x 10 in. (20.3 x 25.4 cm). WPA Federal Theatre Project, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington D.C., ML31.F44

Tina Modotti (Italian, 1896–1942). Woman with Flag (1 de Mayo, Muher con Bandera), A- I-Z, Iss. 17 (1931). Rotogravure, approx. 15 1/8 x 11 1/8 in. (38.2 x 28 cm). The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Museum purchase funded by Max and Isabell Smith Herzstein

Tina Modotti (Italian, 1896–-1942). Woman with Flag (1 de Mayo, Mujer con Bandera), A- I-Z, Iss. 17 (1931). Rotogravure, approx. 15 1/8 x 11 1/8 in. (38.2 x 28 cm). The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Museum purchase funded by Max and Isabell Smith Herzstein

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Installation view photo © Jonathan Dorado

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Installation view photo © Jonathan Dorado

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Installation view photo © Jonathan Dorado

Gran Fury (active 1988–94): Richard Elovich, Avram Finkelstein, Tom Kalin, John Lindell, Loring McAlpin, Marlene McCarty, Donald Moffett, Michael Nesline, Mark Simpson, Robert Vazquez. Women Don’t Get AIDS, They Just Die from It, 1991. Bus shelter sign, ink on acetate, 70 x 47 in (1.8 x 1.2 m). Public Art Fund, New York and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Gran Fury (active 1988–-94): Richard Elovich, Avram Finkelstein, Tom Kalin, John Lindell, Loring McAlpin, Marlene McCarty, Donald Moffett, Michael Nesline, Mark Simpson, Robert Vazquez. Women Don’t Get AIDS, They Just Die from It, 1991. Bus shelter sign, ink on acetate, 70 x 47 in (1.8 x 1.2 m). Public Art Fund, New York and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

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Installation view photo © Jonathan Dorado

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Installation view photo © Jonathan Dorado

SAHMAT [Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust] (founded 1989). Slogans for Communal Harmony (Auto-rickshaw project), 1992/2013. Rickshaw, steel with vinyl top; documentary photographs and video; rickshaw: 65 1/2 × 50 1/2 × 108 in. (166.4 × 128.3 × 274.3 cm), cover: 30 1/2 × 45 × 60 1/2 in. (77.5 × 114.3 × 153.7 cm). The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago. (Photo: © 2015 courtesy of The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago) *No cropping without prior approval

SAHMAT [Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust] (founded 1989). Slogans for Communal Harmony (Auto-rickshaw project), 1992/2013. Rickshaw, steel with vinyl top; documentary photographs and video; rickshaw: 65 1/2 × 50 1/2 × 108 in. (166.4 × 128.3 × 274.3 cm), cover: 30 1/2 × 45 × 60 1/2 in. (77.5 × 114.3 × 153.7 cm). The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago. (Photo: © 2015 courtesy of The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago)

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Jelili Atiku (Nigerian, born 1968). Nigerian Fetish (Occupy Nigeria #1), Ejigbo, Lagos, Nigeria, 2012. Performance documentation. © Jelili Atiku. (Photo: Tajudeen Busari)

Dread Scott (American, born 1965). On the Impossibility of Freedom in a Country Founded on Slavery and Genocide, performance still, 2014. Pigment print, 22 x 30 in. (55.9 x 76.2 cm). Project produced by More Art. Collection of the artist, Brooklyn. © Dread Scott. (Photo: Mark Von Holden Photography. © Dread Scott)

Dread Scott (American, born 1965). On the Impossibility of Freedom in a Country Founded on Slavery and Genocide, performance still, 2014. Pigment print, 22 x 30 in. (55.9 x 76.2 cm). Project produced by More Art. Collection of the artist, Brooklyn. © Dread Scott. (Photo: Mark Von Holden Photography. © Dread Scott)

Otabenga Jones & Associates (founded 2002). The People’s Plate Mural, 2015. Acrylic on wall, 96 x 36 ft. (29.2 x 11 m). © Otabenga Jones & Associates. (Photo: Lawndale Art Center)

Otabenga Jones & Associates (founded 2002). The People’s Plate Mural, 2015. Acrylic on wall, 96 x 36 ft. (29.2 x 11 m). © Otabenga Jones & Associates. (Photo: Lawndale Art Center)

Images courtesy Brooklyn Museum