10 Independents; An Artist Initiated Exhibition, Jan. 14 - Feb. 27, 1972, The Guggenheim

This is a poster made in conjunction with the exhibition 10 independents shown at the Guggenheim in 1972. Characterized as a loosely knit, vaguely defined group of artists, the independents approached the museum with the proposal of an exhibition that would act as a corrective to institutional taste. The director, Thomas Messer, was intrigued by the idea, which brought to the foreground the sometimes uneasy relationship between artists and museums. He wrote that ". . . the museum is simultaneously reduced in authority and freed of responsibility." The other artists participating in the show included Romare Bearden, Mary Frank, Lester Johnson, Irving Kriesberg, Joseph Kurhaject, Maryan, H. C. Westermann, Robert Beauchamp, and Peter Schumann. The introduction to the checklist was written by Dore Ashton who succinctly put the effort of an artist-organized exhibition into historical context. References: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. 10 Independents: An Artist-Initiated Exhibition, 1972.