Scaffold (sculpture)
Artist: Sam Durant
Year: 2017
Date of Action: June 2017
Region: North America
Location: Walker Art Center
Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion
Medium: Sculpture
Confronting Bodies: Dakota Elders, Walker Art Center
Description of Artwork: Not provided yet.
The Incident: Protestors began gathering outside the museum on May 26th, 2017 and remained all weekend. Much of the native community was extremely offended and upset by the artwork and were very vocal about it. One protestor said that "it truly saddens me that in 2017, we still live in a world where the intergenerational trauma of a people can be put on display for the world to see without any consequences." Many offended viewers of the art commented that the "legacy of the white, male monopoly over the historiography of the Dakota War lives on."
Results of Incident: After the Walker and Durant met with the Dakota Elders, the artist apologized and signed over the copyright of Scaffold to the Dakota Nation. The Walker agreed to allow the work to be dismantled. Members of the Dakota Nation met and voted to bury the materials.
Source:
June 26, 2017 Dakota elders meet to discuss sculpture’s fate http://www.therepublic.com/2017/06/26/mn-gallows-sculpture-protests-2/
June 25, 2017 Dakota elders meet to ponder fate of 'Scaffold' materials It was dismantled and removed from Sculpture Garden. By Alicia Eler Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/dakota-elders-meet-to-ponder-fate-of-scaffold-materials/430753943/
JUNE 23, 2017 NCAC Responds to the Walker Art Center’s Statement Affirming Decision to Dismantle Controversial Sculpture BY NCAC http://ncac.org/blog/ncac-responds-to-the-walker-art-centers-statement-affirming-decision-to-dismantle-controversial-sculpture
June 20, 2017 Walker Statement in Response to NCAC Statement https://walkerart.org/magazine/walker-art-center-response-national-coalition-against-censorship-scaffold
