Art and History and People

When we think art doesn't matter....

The Walker Art Center and Museum in Minneapolis has come under fire for a very large installation called "Scaffold" (2012) by artist Sam Durrant recently installed on the Center's grounds. The wood and steel installation layers forms of seven historical gallows for US sanctioned executions until 2006. One section evokes the hanging of 38 Dakota native American men in Minnesota by Lincoln's presidential order after the US-Dakota war in 1862, the largest mass execution in US history. The executions incidentally occurred the same week as the Emancipation Proclamation was signed.

As nearly as I can ascertain, the installation is only the gallows. No ropes or symbols of those hanged can be seen in photos, although there must be some narrative aspect, even if it's just a label.

Indian wars were a significant concern in expanding America. One source lists 17 Indian wars in the 1800s, five each in the 1700s and 1600s. New Englanders will find historical parallels to King Philip's war of 1675 that burned and killed through settled villages in Massachusetts for a year-and-a-half, until the capture and beheading of Metacommet.

The execution of the Dakota is considered one of the greatest atrocities in American capital punishment history. That event is not alone in the artwork installation. Six other complex scaffolds in the exhibit placed around the Walker's grounds memorialize the executions of John Brown, the Lincoln Conspirators, four other Americans, and Saddam Hussein. Native Americans find the work insensitive and see no parallel in their treatment, in that their efforts were in defence of their lands and lives.

The actual history of the wars with native Americans in Minnesota is complicated with different groups at different times. Thousands of settlers were attacked in wars driving them into forts and forcing them to abandon harvests and homes throughout Minnesota and the Dakotas in the 1860s, just prior to the Civil War.

Walker director Olga Visio responded in an open letter to a publication devoted to native American news and arts. She regrets that they did not anticipate better how the work would be received by native American audiences. She first encountered the installation in Europe and saw a powerful artistic statement about capital punishment, histories of violence, and colonialist hegemony.

One must have some sympathy for the Walker, which fundamentally is an art museum. Art is a complicated matter, no longer confined to design and craft, inspiration and vision. It is culturally invested, and museums struggle to make aesthetic and critical connections while representing history and culture with sensitivity. Our times are fraught with conflict over who has the right to tell a story. The Walker is casting a critical eye and provoking thought about the enormity of the action in the past and present, to execute those who war against the state. The exhibit touches on the larger question of capital punishment, itself.

I have sympathy for the native Americans. They are in position to feel broadly connected, if not blamed, for the history of resistance to advancing Euro-American civilization. They rightly feel their heritage might be attacked or dismissed. Any challenge also risks being generalized into a categorical critique of the race. It's a good thing that they are vigilant and challenge easy narratives. To paraphrase Red Green, we all really do need to be in this together.

Arthur Dirks

18 September 2017