Refracted Visions: A Critique of "Mirroring Evil: Nazi Imagery/Recent Art"

This review essay focuses on the recent exhibition "Mirroring Evil: Nazi Imagery/Recent Art" at the Jewish Museum in New York. It asks questions about how the controversy surrounding this show shaped the way it was seen. It uses the notion of refraction to help explain why it remains so di...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Studies in gender and sexuality 2005-04, Vol.6 (2), p.199-216
Main Author: Levitt, Laura S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Contemporary art
Good & evil
Holocaust
Holocaust survivors
Imagery
Jewish people
Judaic studies
Morality
Museum exhibits
Museums
Nazi era
Nazi groups
Popular culture
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Summary:This review essay focuses on the recent exhibition "Mirroring Evil: Nazi Imagery/Recent Art" at the Jewish Museum in New York. It asks questions about how the controversy surrounding this show shaped the way it was seen. It uses the notion of refraction to help explain why it remains so difficult for Americans and Jews alike to visualize evil in our own midst, especially after September 11, 2001. Entering into the space of the exhibition, it then demonstrates how particular works of contemporary art can make both visual and visceral the traces of Nazi aesthetics in contemporary culture.
ISSN:1524-0657
1940-9206
DOI:10.1080/15240650609349274