I Refuse to be Invisible: Self-Portraiture Across American Art
About
Drawing a broad chronological, cultural, and stylistic arc across two centuries of American art, I Refuse to be Invisible questions who is visible in American society and through which means they are rendered visible. The exhibition foregrounds how self-portraiture has afforded American artists an unparalleled arena for challenging how people are depicted within a dynamic society made up of dissimilar individuals. Simultaneously, it explores the genre as both an affirmative claim for visibility and a challenge against the mechanisms of representation that over the course of history have lifted certain bodies into visibility and relegated others to oblivion.
I Refuse to be Invisible encompasses a heterogeneous array of works, ranging from oil on canvas to sculpture and video art, and it draws from the collections of Art Bridges, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the National Academy of Design. The exhibition broadens the definition of “American art” by pairing household names, such as Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, with artists like Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith and Ana Mendieta, both “outsiders” who have only recently been acknowledged by canonical art history. The exhibition offers a crash course in self-portraiture as well as works that seek to challenge the tenets of the genre. While some of the works in the show rely on likeness and are instantly recognizable as a self-portrait, others reimagine identity through forms of representation that do not rely on similitude and may not feature an identifiable human figure. The latter deliberately challenges the conventions of self-portraiture by exploring how language, visual association, and symbols can depict aspects of selfhood that would otherwise remain invisible.
Lender
Art Bridges Foundation, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the National Academy of Design
Space Requirements
3500 to 5000 sq ft- flexible footprint; Open to additions to the checklist
Loan Duration
6 months
Support
Art Bridges is dedicated to partnering with and supporting institutions that focus on developing engaging, accessible, and dynamic exhibitions. Art Bridges provides 20% to 70% of total eligible costs while it's at your museum and significant funding for Learning & Engagement programming for outreach and engagement to bring new audiences.
Exhibition Prospectus
Dive Deeper
Through a historical exploration of self-portraiture, I Refuse to be Invisible invites viewers to consider the self-portrait as both an affirmative claim for visibility and a challenge against the mechanisms of cultural marginalization.
