Art - Memory - Place

We're coming into an era of serious labor history centennials. 2011 is the centennial of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, and the Grey Art Gallery at good old NYU just opened a really thoughtful looking exhibit dealing with the event through a somewhat unconventional mix of perspectives and media.

Art - Memory - Place: Commemorating the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (Great website.)

Part I deals with the history of the fire itself, its human impact, and the immediate social aftermath. Part II takes us into mid-20th century reforms in workplace safety as an act of memorialization. (I am excited about the apparent abundance of 1930s mural art here.) Parts III and IV deal with the fire's 50th anniversary, and its enduring legacies in labor activism, memory, and large-scale tragedy today.

Historic photos! Artifacts! Artwork! Activism! Documenting! Interpreting! Memorializing!

Making a resolution to see this before it closes March 26, the day after the tragedy's 100th anniversary.

Detail of mural by Ernest Fiene, History of the Needlecraft Industry (1938-1940)