Alice Proujansky. Hard Times are Fighting Times

About

As one of Baxter St’s 2024 Mid-Career Initiative Artists, Proujansky offers a profound and intimate reflection on family legacy, radical activism, and psychological formation. Drawing from her family’s personal archives, Proujansky traces the indelible influence of her parents’ revolutionary ideals and shared vision for social transformation.

Hard Times are Fighting Times illuminates the lives of Proujansky’s activist parents, whose involvement in leftist movements of the 1970s defied mainstream political structures. Through photographs of FBI surveillance files, family ephemera, and images capturing her parents’ transition from public activism to private life, Proujansky constructs a richly layered portrayal of this complex history. The exhibition, which follows the publication of her photobook, invites viewers to engage with these materials from both a familial and historical perspective.

Proujansky’s parents met in 1976 while organizing a demonstration against imperialism, united by a commitment to Marxist-Leninist ideals and feminist principles that would ultimately shape their family. A line from Marx, rephrased to be non-sexist, “Each according to their need; each according to their ability,” adorned their pantry door, serving as a daily reminder of these values.

The exhibition engages deeply with the intensity of radical history. FBI documents from the era reveal the government’s close surveillance of groups like Weatherman, who sought to build a revolutionary mass movement. Eventually, many of these activists expected to raise radical children, too. Yet, intertwined with this turbulence lies a vision of a more just world—grounded in loyalty, labor, and resilience.

“Hard Times are Fighting Times invites viewers to examine the overlap between political action and emotional terrain,” Proujansky reflects. “Our family unit was its own political movement, nation-state, culture and system of belief. This heritage is inspiring, but it brings enormous pressure to hew to the party line. Raised to observe, critique, and understand, I use photography to honor the ideals of my upbringing while questioning its limitations. My work asks how to share this history, but also which parts of this legacy I choose to carry forward.”

Through its Mid-Career Artist Initiative, Baxter St supports lens-based artists who occupy the pivotal space between emerging and established stages, providing exhibition opportunities. Hard Times are Fighting Times continues Baxter St’s dedication to presenting artist perspectives that bridge the personal and political, encouraging audiences to thoughtfully engage with histories that shape identity.

ABOUT ALICE PROUJANSKY