Survival of the Fittest

Bullet Space, publisher

1985–present

Nadia Coën, artist

born 1961

Survival of the Fittest, 1990–1991

Portfolio/Series title: Your House is Mine

Where object was made: New York, New York, United States

Material/technique: screen print

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 584 x 508 mm
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 23 x 20 in

Credit line: Museum purchase

Accession number: 1994.0025.13

Not on display

Add to portfolio

If you wish to reproduce this image, please submit an image request

Images

Label texts

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Access Virtual Exhibition

Although the phrase “survival of the fittest” is often associated with naturalist Charles Darwin, it was actually coined by English philosopher Herbert Spencer. The phrase is often used to explain the concept of natural selection; the process through which living organisms adapt and change. When used in relation to the ideas of Social Darwinism, it implies that the strong members of society will succeed, and the weak will perish. What societal systems exist today that reinforce this idea?

Exhibition Label:
"Printed Art and Social Radicalism," Jun-2002, Stephen Goddard
The portfolio Your House is Mine was produced in the wake of the 1989 Tompkins Square Riots in New York City; the events surrounding the confrontation of police and radicals over the eviction of squatters in Lower East Side properties and the 300 homeless living in Tompkins Square Park.