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Displays of Power: Memory and Amnesia in the American Museum
A study of the American cultural wars taking place in controversial museum exhibitions
Museums have become ground zero in America's culture wars. Whereas fierce public debates once centered on provocative work by upstart artists, the scrutiny has now expanded to mainstream cultural institutions and the ideas they present. In Displays of Power , Steven Dubin, whose Arresting Images was deemed "masterly" by the New York Times , examines the most controversial exhibitions of the 1990s. These include shows about ethnicity, slavery, Freud, the Old West, and the dropping of the atomic bomb by the Enola Gay. This new edition also includes a preface by the author detailing the recent Sensation! controversy at the Brooklyn Museum. Displays of Power draws directly upon interviews with many key museum administrators, community activists, curators, and scholars. It authoritatively analyzes these episodes of America struggling to redefine itself in the late 20th century.
Museums have become ground zero in America's culture wars. Whereas fierce public debates once centered on provocative work by upstart artists, the scrutiny has now expanded to mainstream cultural institutions and the ideas they present. In Displays of Power , Steven Dubin, whose Arresting Images was deemed "masterly" by the New York Times , examines the most controversial exhibitions of the 1990s. These include shows about ethnicity, slavery, Freud, the Old West, and the dropping of the atomic bomb by the Enola Gay. This new edition also includes a preface by the author detailing the recent Sensation! controversy at the Brooklyn Museum. Displays of Power draws directly upon interviews with many key museum administrators, community activists, curators, and scholars. It authoritatively analyzes these episodes of America struggling to redefine itself in the late 20th century.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 30, 1999
49 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 18, 2016
This book is a set of case studies on controversial museum exhibitions in New York and D.C., mostly in the 90's. You might think it is a bit dated now, but the themes and questions Dubin addresses are still relevant. It should bring up extended questions that you can apply to your museum work. Who are the stakeholders in any one exhibition? What is the relationship between museums and the press? How can your museum prepare for bad press with good PR? Is there such a thing as bad publicity (I think the answer is yes)? How should museums engage local, state, and federal lawmakers to garner their support (or at least create aversion to opposing a museum's well researched exhibitions). How do we include multiple perspectives in an exhibition? How do we make sure we don't present a biased analysis of history or culture or art (or science, but not addressed in this book)? Are the loudest voices the most important?
I enjoyed "Displays of Power" for bringing up these questions, and for providing some context as to why museums operate a certain way now. Since the book is divided into case studies, it's easy to commit to a chapter and then put it down for a few days without loosing your train of thought on the topic. For those looking at graduate school, there are also plenty of great GRE words.
I enjoyed "Displays of Power" for bringing up these questions, and for providing some context as to why museums operate a certain way now. Since the book is divided into case studies, it's easy to commit to a chapter and then put it down for a few days without loosing your train of thought on the topic. For those looking at graduate school, there are also plenty of great GRE words.
September 9, 2016
This book is absolutely fantastic. A rundown of some of the most controversial museum exhibits in recent(ish) American history. Read for my intro to museums class but honestly would recommend to anyone.
September 8, 2022
Depressing. After 30+ years in museums and struggling with employment this well written work convinced me to never return to the museum field. Focusing on several high profile case studies museums can be seen to have lost the chance to link a wide public with the best in new research.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews