Activist Art and Abortion Rights in the Post-Roe v. Wade United States: An Analysis of the Archival Works of REPOhistory, Kerr + Malley, and Andrea Bowers
By Elizabeth S. Hawley
Ph.D. Candidate
Art History Department
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Abstract (essay attached)
Feminists in the u.s. viewed the 1973 passage of Roe v. Wade as an enormous victory. But in subsequent years this legislation was eroded at federal and state levels. Several artists have addressed this situation, yet their work is obscured by a double veil; feminist art is often sidelined, and issues surrounding abortion are further complicated by their polarizing nature. Therefore, artists reckoning with this topic have often taken an archival approach, rendering visible the history of abortion. Here, I address works produced by REPOhistory, Kerr + Malley, and Andrea Bowers. They consider contemporary restrictions by recalling restrictions past; producing works that excavate overlooked accounts of abortion and abortion rights. Their projects productively question the intersection of art and activism, the aesthetic and activist potential of the archive, and the struggle that women face in insisting that their stories be told.
Attachments:
You must be
logged in to view attached files.
