New Books Network Nicholas Gamso, "Art After Liberalism" (Columbia UP, 2022)
Nov 29, 2025
Nicholas Gamso, a writer and academic with expertise in theory and visual culture, dives into the failures of liberalism and its impact on art. He discusses Kara Walker's provocative installations that challenge gentrification and the role of public art in political movements. Gamso highlights the connections between museums and state power while framing art as a tool for diagnosing societal issues and imagining alternatives. He also touches on the importance of aesthetics in activism and the need to engage disenfranchised populations in the creative process.
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Liberalism As Freedom With Hidden Costs
- Liberalism is best understood as a complex of freedoms (speech, markets, mobility) that simultaneously produces sites of unfreedom.
- These freedoms are historically sourced in colonialism, enslavement, and exploitive labor relations.
Kara Walker's Sphinx Aggravates, Not Consoles
- Nicholas Gamso describes Kara Walker's 2014 Domino Sugar sphinx as a work that aggravated, not soothed, cross-class and cross-race encounters.
- He saw it as a commentary on the false promises of liberalism and gentrification.
Buses On End: A Monument That Conducts Conflict
- Gamso recounts Manaf Halbouni's Monument: three decommissioned buses set on ends in Dresden referencing Aleppo and Dresden's bombing.
- The work became a gathering point for rival factions and lost power when moved into institutional settings.
