New Books in Critical Theory Rebecca Zorach, "Temporary Monuments: Art, Land, and America's Racial Enterprise" (U Chicago Press, 2024)
Apr 11, 2025
Rebecca Zorach, an art historian and professor at Northwestern University, dives into the intricate relationship between art, land, and America’s racial history. She discusses how temporary monuments challenge societal narratives and the role of museums in shaping identity. Zorach reflects on her own family history and explores the racial dynamics tied to public art. Highlighting contemporary artists, she examines their works that confront issues of White supremacy and environmental justice, urging a rethinking of land art and community identity.
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Temporary Monuments Critique Permanence
- Monuments in the U.S. are ideological tools creating illusions of permanence and unbroken legacy.
- Temporary monuments challenge and critique the idea of monuments as permanent embodiments of power.
Museums Rooted in Colonial Power
- Early U.S. museums were deeply tied to slavery and erased Native American presence.
- They presented whiteness as civilization, linking new nationhood to European traditions.
The Wild as Settler Anxiety
- The concept of "the wild" symbolizes both desire and anxiety in settler colonial America.
- It intertwines ideas of race, gender, and violence within American identity and cultural imagination.
