“The powerless, the oppressed, and the marginalized have, throughout history, transformed the clothes on their backs into symbols of dissent.” – Cammile Benda
Existence is protest; presence and occupation of space can be a way to take a stand and fight for justice and equity. We often think about protests as a place for voices that have remained unheard, or that have posed a vocal challenge to oppressive systems. However, protests are not always disruptive or sonically loud. They can also be quiet, witty, and subtle. Protest can become a part of daily life in how we choose to sound ourselves through fashion. We give life to the clothes we wear, and our garments in turn amplify our voices. This exhibit may be audibly silent in its display, but the experiences and messages of these garments will reverberate.
Danny Perlstein, Fruit of the Loom
Ithaca NY, 2006
T-shirt, Open the Border
100% Cotton
Danny Perlstein
CF+TC #2006.20.002
In 2006 a “bill passed in the House [of Representatives] that would speed up the deportation process, tighten border security, and deem illegal immigrants as criminals.” Rallies against this bill took place in May on the Cornell University campus as part of a country-wide protest to stop the bill. 70 Cornell students marched from Ho Plaza to join over 200 protesters from Ithaca College and the city. This T-shirt was made and worn by Daniel Perlstein, who was a Cornell student and environmental and social activist who wrote for the Cornell Daily Sun from 2001-2007. Though Daniel had a strong voice as a journalist, they chose to make this garment to carry their message as part of a nation-wide disturbance that brought attention to immigrant rights.
Aram Han Sifuentes
American, 2019
There Comes a Time when Silence is Betrayal
Felt and fusible web on fabric
On loan from the Johnson Museum of Art
Johnson #2020.023.025
Aram Han Sifuentes noted in her artist statement that she learned to sew at the age of six to help her mother earn a living, so sewing is an important part of her identity, her body memory, and her politics. This combination of both labor and protest, along with the fact that the banner directly speaks to silence, highlights how important disturbance is in aiding the silenced to be heard. After the 2016 presidential election, Sifuentes found that she “needed a platform to shout.” As an immigrant and, at the time, new mother, she couldn’t always attend protests in person, so she started making protest banners. The project eventually grew into the Protest Banner Lending Library, which is a workshop where people can learn to make textile banners and later check out these creations for use. This banner was created by an anonymous participant at a workshop held at the Johnson Museum in 2019.
Cornelius Tulloch
Ithaca, NY, 2018
“I Matter” T-Shirt
Screen-printed cotton t-shirt
CF+TC acquisition
Mariah Gullate
American, 2020
“I CAN’T BREATHE” mask
Black fabric mask, with red lining, white vinyl letters, and elastic ear loops.
Donated by Jenny Leigh Du Puis
CF+TC #2020.26.001
“I Can’t Breathe” is a slogan from the Black Lives Matter Movement, and originated from the last audible words of Eric Garner and George Floyd, who were unjustly killed by police brutality in 2014 and 2020, respectively. Designed by Mariah Gullate, a graduate student at Auburn University, the contrast of white capitalized lettering against a stark black fabric visually amplifies voices involuntarily silenced through murder. Reclaiming the phrase in protest draws attention to casualties of systemic racism.
Ding Kong
American, 2005
Armband, redbud woods campus protest
Donated by Ding Kong
CF+TC #2006.18.001
Red armbands like this one were worn by students in protest of a parking lot to be built in greenspace on the Cornell Campus. Redbud woods was a natural wooded area behind the historic home of Robert Treman, who was an alumnus known for preserving Ithaca’s natural vistas. Hundreds of students participated in protests around campus in the Spring of 2005, which culminated in 8 students locking themselves in the office of the President of Cornell University at the time. Despite the unified effort to make Cornell live up to their pledge to respect the environment, the parking lot was built anyway. The two acres in question represented one of the last few spaces on campus that were undeveloped, which is why the protesters wore the visually loud, bright-red armbands.
Lesley Hampton and Scott Wabano
Canada, 2020
HAMPTON X WABANO JACKET
On loan from Shawkay Ottmann
Over a century ago Anishinaabe people were gifted ziibaaska’iganagooday (the jingle dress) through a dream as a means of healing during the 1918 – 1920 Spanish Flu pandemic. The jingles were originally made from rolled snuff can lids. When danced, they would swish and clink together to make a sound like rain. To honor this history, Anishinaabe Mohawk designer Lesley Hampton and Cree stylist Scott Wabano created the HAMPTON X WABANO JACKET during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. At a time of widespread illness, this jacket allowed the wearer to envelop themself in a sonically healing everyday garment, as opposed to regalia reserved for ceremonial purposes. While many protest garments include visual statements, this jacket generates a live voice: it sings a reminder to everyone in the area that Indigenous cultures are living and present. The jacket heals by reclaiming narratives, connecting to the past, and sounding future possibilities.
Republic of Guinea, circa 1958
Man’s shirt, blue & white, “NON”
Batik dyed cotton
CF+TC #2015.02.083
This casual shirt was made in French Guinea and worn in the months leading up to the 1958 constitutional referendum, a pivotal vote to determine whether to remain a French colony (yes) or attain independence (no or non). This shirt would have been worn by someone advocating for decolonization and independence. The “NONON” repeat is made using a resist dyeing technique using wax, likely stamped onto the fabric with a copper block and then dyed with indigo. This technique, known as batik or wax print, had become an important part of west African fashion through the Dutch and their complex colonial trade networks. Most Guineans–about 95%–voted no and became the first French colony in Africa to claim total independence and the Republic of Guinea was formed. Other African colonies soon followed. By co-opting Western style dress, printing and dyeing techniques brought through colonial networks, and French words, this shirt is a resounding disturbance of colonial rule in Africa.
