Displays of Power : Memory and Amnesia in the American Museum

Dubin, Steven C.

ISBN 10: 0814718892 / ISBN 13: 9780814718896

Published by New York University Press, New York and London, 1999

About this Item

New York and London: New York University Press, 1999. As New condition in bright, shiny As New Dust Jacket. No chips. No tears. No creases. No owner's name or bookplate. No remainder marks. No underlining. No highlighting. No margin notes. Clean, square, tight, and unmarked. Sharp corners. Fresh and crisp, apparently never read. Illustrated with photos, political cartoons, poster and document facsimiles. List of Interviews. Chapter notes. Index. First printing, with complete number row (10 987654321) on the copyright page. From the Dust Jacket: "In the past, museums glorified wealth and validated authority. But today, pressure groups frequently mobilize either to force their own perspective upon museum walls, or to prevent opposing opinions from being expressed. Exhibition controversies are similar to tagged genes': They are markers for critical conditions, but not the cause of them. In DISPLAYS OF POWER, Steven C. Dubin… 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. Some of these exhibitions challenged standard narratives, while others were faulted for failing to do so. Drawing directly upon interviews with many key combatants: museum administrators, community activists, curators, and scholars, DISPLAYS OF POWER authoritatively analyzes these episodes of America struggling to redefine itself in the late twentieth century.". First Printing of the First Edition. Hardcover. Black cloth spine/white boards/Jacket not priced or clipped. 8vo. xiv, 290pp.

Seller Inventory # 002809

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Displays of Power : Memory and Amnesia in the American Museum
• Publisher: New York University Press, New York and London
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814718892
• ISBN 13: 9780814718896
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Printing of the First Edition.
• Condition: Black cloth spine/white boards
• Dust Jacket Condition: Jacket not priced or clipped
• Seller catalogs:
  • History / Biography

About this title

Synopsis

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 combatants: museum administrators, community activists, curators, and scholars. It authoritatively analyzes these episodes of America struggling to redefine itself in the late 20th century.

About the Author

Steven C. Dubin's most recent book, Arresting Images, was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year (1992). He is the Director of the Media, Society, and the Arts Program at the State University of New York, Purchase.