Sam Durant
Iconoclasm
Library Street Collective
Key locations throughout Metro Detroit/1265 Parkview St
October - November 2019
Sam Durant has developed a rigorous research-based practice that extracts and reframes dominant historical narratives. For Iconoclasm he created a series of large-scale graphite drawings, which depicted some of the most dramatic examples of iconoclastic destruction. The attacks on statues document a range of archival sources such as photography, newspaper and televised imagery, illustrating a broad historical and transnational arc. The drawings highlighted the long history and international scope of image breaking and feature significant examples of religious, cultural and political destruction. Examples included the 1572 defacement of the altarpiece of St. Martin's Cathedral in Utrecht, the Netherlands, by iconoclastic reformers, and more recently the removal in 2017 of a Confederate soldier's monument in Durham, North Carolina, by civil rights activists. Given the global increase in political polarization, extremism and nationalism, the large-scale drawings were a reminder of living history and presented a critical opportunity to explore our relationship to the symbols of the past and how we relate to them as society changes.
The project consisted of two parts: an exhibition of the 13 charcoal drawings in a local venue that was once the Catholic Church, and a selection of drawings placed in key locations throughout Metro Detroit. Iconoclasm aimed to bring together a diverse segment of the population to experience and discuss how communities relate to art and symbols in public space, and their potential for conflict and eventual elimination.
The exhibition was organized in collaboration with Library Street Collective, curated by Pedro Alonzo.
Guest Curator: Pedro Alonzo
IG @studiosamdurant / ww.samdurant.com
Photo credits: Artworks by Makenzie Goodman; Public Installations by Darryl Deangelo Terrell; Exhibition by Clare Gatto