Women March at
the New-York Historical Society commemorates the centennial of the ratification
of the Nineteenth Amendment that granted women the right to vote in 1920. It explores
the effort women made to expand democracy before and after the suffrage victory
and was curated by Valerie Paley, senior vice president, historian, and
director of the museum’s Center for Women’s History.
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| Riva Helfond, Curtain Factory, 1937 |
This
multi-media serious and yet joyful extravaganza begins with banners and pamphlets
from the 1820s through the nineteenth century when the Abolitionists and
Suffragettes were closely aligned and the Wyoming Territory was the first to
give women the vote in 1869. (Surely that’s not the only thing I remember from
high school?) Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton through the National
Woman Suffrage Association and Lucy Stone through the American Woman Suffrage
Association were special heroes of the drive. After successes in several
western states (perhaps prompted by the pragmatic notion that women might
migrate to places where they were needed and would be appreciated?), the
movement was revitalized in the 1910s. The installation has numerous photographs
and films of this period featuring marches with hundreds and hundreds of women
of diverse classes, races, and generations, in shoe-length white dresses, in
endless rows – they are determined, very brave, and so dignified.
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| Installation shot: Antoinette Mauro upper left and center of lower left. |
In the 1930s,
during the era of the Great Depression, the groups supported the labor movement
as sweatshops employed thousands of women largely as sewing machine operators.
It is in this part of the show that Riva Helfond’s monumental painting Curtain Factory,
1937, appears. It’s amazing to come upon it – a sensitive and touching view of
piece-work employment in a claustrophobic sweatshop environment. It stands out
so clearly among the other mediums and moving images of the film pieces – all
in black and white until that point. Just past the Helfond is an area dedicated
to women who took jobs in industries making equipment and munitions for the war
effort. Antoinette Mauro is shown with her colleagues and her actual drafting
set. In the 1940s the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a huge, huge employer, hired its
first woman factory employee.
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| Installation shot |
Even as jobs
were given up to returning soldiers, the 1950s set the stage for large numbers
of women to further their educations and enter the workforce in the 1960s,
paving the way for the demand for reproductive rights, childcare, feminism, and
the eventually the #MeToo movement. The show ends with more contemporary memorabilia
including a Gorilla Girl mask, a deep pink pussy hat, and hand-made posters (my
favorite: If you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention), as well as
footage of recent marches. Of course these are in color, the clothing is
certainly not white, and there aren’t any of the seemingly endless, orderly
rows of a century ago. The determination and the camaraderie are still there
though.
#Rivahelfond
#NYHistoricalsociety #womenmarch #feminism #suffragette #abolishionist
#labormovement #19thamendment #nineteenthamendment #sweatshop #MeToo
#gorillagirls #pussyhat #womenshistorymonth
Rivahelfond,
NYHistoricalsociety, womenmarch, feminism, suffragette, abolishionist, labormovement,
19thamendment, nineteenthamendment, sweatshop, MeToo, gorillagirls, pussyhat, womenshistorymonth
