Rethinking Monuments: American Sculpture in its Time, 1850-2000
Museum Exhibition Dates: September 10 – December 17, 2022
Monuments are always changing.
The way artists think about and make monuments changes through time.
From realistic depictions of men and their horses to fantastical ice-cream bars.
The stories those monuments tell also change as time passes.
Sculptures about the “Wild West” made in the 1900s now illuminate harmful myths and prejudice.
The meaning and impact of a monument changes based on the person who sees it.
An individual’s legacy can be remembered in conflicting ways.
Rethinking Monuments traces some of these changes from 1850–2000. The sculptors in this exhibition created large and small monuments. Made from bronze and plywood. Found in the home and city streets. Their works experiment with ways to confront the past, shape the present, and hope for the future.
The way artists think about and make monuments changes through time.
From realistic depictions of men and their horses to fantastical ice-cream bars.
The stories those monuments tell also change as time passes.
Sculptures about the “Wild West” made in the 1900s now illuminate harmful myths and prejudice.
The meaning and impact of a monument changes based on the person who sees it.
An individual’s legacy can be remembered in conflicting ways.
Rethinking Monuments traces some of these changes from 1850–2000. The sculptors in this exhibition created large and small monuments. Made from bronze and plywood. Found in the home and city streets. Their works experiment with ways to confront the past, shape the present, and hope for the future.
THIS EXHIBITION IS SUPPORTED BY:
This is one in a series of American art exhibitions created through a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership formed by the Detroit Institute of Arts as part of the Art Bridges Initiative.