Smashing statues : the rise and fall of America's public monuments / Erin L. Thompson.
Material type:
TextPublisher: New York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company, [2022]Edition: First editionDescription: xx, 264 pages : illustrations ; 22 cmContent type: - text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780393867671
- 0393867676
- 9781324050490
- Rise and fall of America's public monuments
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
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Main Library | NonFiction | 725.9409 T469 | Available | 33111010970347 | ||||
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Adult Book
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Main Library | NonFiction | 725.9409 T469 | Available | 33111010790612 | ||||
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Adult Book
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Northport Library | NonFiction | 725.9409 T469 | Available | 33111009874641 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
An urgent and fractious national debate over public monuments has erupted in America. Some people risk imprisonment to tear down long-ignored hunks of marble; others form armed patrols to defend them. Why do we care so much about statues? Which ones should stay up and which should come down? Who should make these decisions, and how?
Erin L. Thompson, the country's leading expert in the tangled aesthetic, legal, political, and social issues involved in such battles, brings much-needed clarity in Smashing Statues. She lays bare the turbulent history of American monuments and its abundant ironies, from the enslaved man who helped make the statue of Freedom that tops the United States Capitol, to the fervent Klansman fired from sculpting the world's largest Confederate monument--who went on to carve Mount Rushmore. And she explores the surprising motivations behind contemporary flashpoints, including the toppling of a statue of Columbus at the Minnesota State Capitol, the question of who should be represented on the Women's Rights Pioneers Monument in Central Park, and the decision by a museum of African American culture to display a Confederate monument removed from a public park.
Written with great verve and informed by a keen sense of American history, Smashing Statues gives readers the context they need to consider the fundamental questions for rebuilding not only our public landscape but our nation as a whole: Whose voices must be heard, and whose pain must remain private?
Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-254) and index.
Rising -- Melted majesty -- Chain of being -- Shafts -- A shrine for the South -- Falling -- Bring your drums -- Hideous spectre -- Too damn beautiful -- The great reshufflling.
"A leading expert's exploration of the past, present, and future of public monuments in America. An urgent and fractious national debate over public monuments has erupted in America. Some people risk imprisonment to tear down long-ignored hunks of marble; others form armed patrols to defend them. Why do we care so much about statues? And who gets to decide which ones should stay up and which should come down? Erin L. Thompson, the country's leading expert in the tangled aesthetic, legal, political, and social issues involved in such battles brings much-needed clarity in Smashing Statues. She traces the turbulent history of American monuments and its abundant ironies, starting with the enslaved man who helped make the statue of Freedom atop the US Capitol, and explores the surprising motivations behind such contemporary flashpoints as the toppling of a statue of Columbus at the Minnesota State Capitol. Written with great verve and thoroughly researched, Smashing Statues gives readers the context they need to consider the fundamental question: Whose voices must be heard and whose pain must remain private?"-- Provided by publisher.