Subject to display : reframing race in contemporary installation art

"Subject to Display provides a historical record of a crucial body of visualart work and a theory of how this work effectively interrogates theformation of race in US culture. It also critiques the very terms throughwhich 'identity' has been debated and often reified in both visual artpractices and museum cultures. Subject to Display is an intelligent andcrucial contribution to the understanding of racial discourse and visualityin late twentieth- and twenty-first century American culture."--Amelia Jones, Pilkington Chair, Art History & Visual Studies, School ofArts, Histories and Cultures, University of Manchester -- Amelia Jones "The intense moment of theorization of identity concepts developed in thenineties has apparently been brushed aside. Gonzalez provides a rivetingresponse to the identity debate, making the case that it is time to refocuson its central questions. Subject to Display shows how certain artworks arecapable of dismantling identity's monolithic qualities by interrogating theconditions under which identity has been created and sustained."--Alexander Alberro, author of Conceptual Art and the Politics of Publicity -- Alex Alberro " Subject to Display provides a historical record of a crucial body of visual art work and a theory of how this work effectively interrogates the formation of race in US culture. It also critiques the very terms through which "identity" has been debated and often reified in both visual art practices and museum cultures. Subject to Display is an intelligent and crucial contribution to the understanding of racial discourse and visuality in late twentieth- and twenty-first century American culture." Amelia Jones , Pilkington Chair, Art History & Visual Studies, School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, University of Manchester, author of Irrational Modernism: A Neurasthenic History of New York Dada "The intense moment of theorization of identity concepts developed in the nineties has apparently been brushed aside. Gonzalez provides a riveting response to the identity debate, making the case that it is time to refocus on its central questions. Subject to Display shows how certain artworks are capable of dismantling identity's monolithic qualities by interrogating the conditions under which identity has been created and sustained." Alexander Alberro , author of Conceptual Art and the Politics of Publicity "The intense moment of theorization of identity concepts within the realm of art practice has been brushed aside. Gonzalez provides a riveting and compelling outline of the identity debate, and makes the case that it is time to refocus on its central questions. But rather than the unproblematic return to identity theories, the author convincingly shows that too often the artwork that is conveniently subsumed and dismissed by this classification actually aims to dismantle its monolithic qualities by interrogating the conditions under which it has been created and sustained." Alexander Alberro , author of Conceptual Art and the Politics of Publicity "What better way to understand the agency of display than through a close reading of works that do what they are about. With brilliance and grace, Gonzalez reveals the performative force of installations that restage in order to subvert the visual, material, and institutional practices that sustain race discourse." Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett , author of Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums, and Heritage Read more...