American Artists and Writers Protest the War in Vietnam
New York, NY: Artists & Writers Protest, Inc.,1967
Edition of 100
Gift of Samuel Dorsky

The Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War shook people out of their consumerist American dreams. Many artists felt that their mastery of image making should be put in the service of social and political change. Others thought that their art had no power in the public arena and that the most effective support was to donate art and effort to the causes. Artists & Writers Protest, Inc. was an outgrowth of the Greenwich Village Peace Center and the War Resisters' League. Started by a group of poets who recruited painters and sculptors, Artist & Writers Protest made a rousing debut on Sunday, January 29, 1967 with a full-page in the New York Times urging citizens to "End Your Silence." It was signed by 600 national cultural leaders who had each donated $10 to buy the ad. As New Yorkers read the morning paper, "Angry Arts Week," also organized by Artists & Writers Protest, kicked off with multitudes of actors, dancers and musicians performing anti-war themed work on flat-bed trucks that circulated throughout the city. The week of activities continued with ambulatory and stationary performances and exhibits including the vast and controversial art show, "College of Indignation," at New York University. May Stevens, an artist member of Artist & Writers Protest, said of the week, "Everybody we knew wanted to be in on it. It became very exciting." The portfolio was published to raise funds for further Artists & Writers Protest activities. Sixteen artists and 18 poets contributed work, and printers contributed skills and materials. Some images like those of Ad Reinhardt (see his black square in Ten x Ten) and Carol Summers are overt protests that do not resemble the regular work of the artists. Others like Alan D'Arcangelo's or Louise Nevelson's are simply their own work.

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