Working Thought

Featuring works by 35 contemporary artists, Working Thought examines the role art can play in considering and questioning the many ways economic disparity and labor have shaped American life past and present.

Working Thought showcases artwork across media and generations, highlighting connections between diverse artistic practices. In this exhibition, a combination of new commissions and loans are presented alongside works from the museum’s collection, positioning the collection in a new light and within the context of the history of Pittsburgh as a center of industry.

The exhibition probes the connections between art, economy, and labor within the larger historical relationship between Carnegie Museum of Art, Andrew Carnegie, and the city of Pittsburgh. The museum’s origins can be traced to 1886 with Andrew Carnegie’s initial concept: a museum that would “bring the world” to the people of Pittsburgh, particularly those who worked for the steel magnate. Traces of industry and toil can still be seen at the museum outside of Working Thought; from John White Alexander’s mural The Crowning of Labor which adorns the walls of the 1907 Grand Staircase, to artworks from the collection hanging throughout the museum, visitors can discern themes of labor and economy in every gallery.

The wide range of artworks featured in Working Thought provide many points of entry into the topics of labor and the economy and shed light on the power of art to complicate our most deeply seated assumptions about American history and the social inequities that mark contemporary life.

Working Thought is organized by Eric Crosby, Henry J. Heinz II Director, Carnegie Museum of Art and Vice President, Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh, with Kiki Teshome, Margaret Powell Curatorial Fellow, and former curatorial assistants Ashley McNelis and Hannah Turpin.

Working Thought Film Series:

As part of Working Thought, five independent films by Frederick Wiseman, Barbara Kopple, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, Charles Burnett, and Pittsburgh-based filmmaker Tony Buba will be screened in the Carnegie Museum of Art Theater. Each film addresses topics of labor and economy and will be presented by a local expert whose background engages with the topic of that film.

• March 17, 2022, 6 p.m., American Factory (2019), Dir. Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert
• April 9, 2022, 1:30 p.m., Killer of Sheep (1978), Dir. Charles Burnett
• April 28, 2022, 6 p.m., Harlan County, USA (1976), Dir. Barbara Kopple
• May 21, 2022, 1:30 p.m., Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy (1988), Dir. Tony Buba
• June 16, 2022, 6 p.m., Welfare (1975), Dir. Frederick Wiseman

Programs and Events:

Extending out of the galleries, the exhibition will feature a line-up of public programs connecting the region’s labor history and artistic practice through conversations, performances, and artist workshops.

• April 21, 2022, 6 p.m. — Working Thought – A Celebration!
• April 23, 2022, 10 a.m. — Making Art with Artists: May Day
• April 23, 2022, 3:30 p.m. — In Conversation: Artists
• May 7, 2022, 2 p.m. — In Conversation: Winant Siblings

Featured Artists

Exhibition Images

Margarita Cabrera, installation view of Space in Between series at Dallas Contemporary, 2019, image courtesy of the artist and Talley Dunn Gallery, photo credit: Kevin Todora

Moyra Davey, 1943 (detail), Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Buchholz

Carmen Winant, Pictures of Women Working (detail), 2016-2022, Courtesy of the artist and Patron Gallery

Kevin Jerome Everson, Park Lanes (film still), 2015, Carnegie Museum of Art, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, 2019.12

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Trade Canoe: The Surrounded, 2018, Carnegie Museum of Art, The Henry L. Hillman Fund, Courtesy the artist and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York

Ken Lum, 117 Dwight Eisenhower BLVD, 2009, Courtesy of Royale Projects and the Artist