The Museum and the Protest Poster

This press release represents the version of MoMA’s Board of Trustees regarding the discussions and events that led to their withdrawal of support to co-produce the Q. And babies? A. And babies. (1969) poster. The Art Workers’ Coalition’s (AWC) press release Does MoMA Approve of the Song My [My Lai] Massacre?, issued on December 26, 1969, provides a different account. Published on the same day as the AWC and Art Action Group (GAAG) demonstration with copies of the poster in front of Guernica, MoMA’s press release is consistent with former MoMA director Alfred H. Barr Jr.’s and Trustees David and Nelson Rockefeller’s attempts to preserve the museum as a holy citadel for members of a particular demographic who, in the words of Pierre Bourdieu, wished to indulge their “love of art”.