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“The sculpture prompted calls for its removal before its official unveiling in June. Reviews poured in on Facebook. And crowds gathered at the Walker’s Minneapolis Sculpture Garden on Saturday to protest, holding signs that read “Take it down” and “Execution is not art.”
“I could feel all our pain, our collective pain is what my concern was,” said Janice Bad Moccasin, a Dakota member who was present at the protest. “I didn’t want our children to hear these stories and to see this gallows.”
Walker Art Center Executive Director Olga Viso issued a statement Saturday, saying, “Because we are keenly aware of how important the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden is to the community, city and state, we have been taking the public response over the last 24 hours very seriously.”
She said she has talked with the artist, Sam Durant, and he is open to the removal of the sculpture.
“The responses have overwhelmingly conveyed and expressed anger and sadness that Scaffold has caused the Dakota community and beyond,” she wrote in the statement. “I regret the pain that this artwork has brought to the Dakota community and others.”
Viso said “Scaffold” will be dismantled, and the details of how and when will be determined at a meeting with Dakota Elders, the Walker, and the artist on May 31.”
– Kare11, Walker to dismantle gallows-inspired ‘Scaffold’ sculpture.
“The Walker Art Center said Monday it is delaying the reopening of its famed sculpture garden, after controversy this past weekend over one of the new works.
“Scaffold” is a sculpture by California artist Sam Durant that is based in part on notable executions in U.S. history. It refers to the hanging of 38 Dakota Indian men in Mankato in 1862.
Protests Friday and Saturday prompted the Walker to rethink the work. It’s one of 18 new sculptures following a two-year, $33 million makeover. The sculpture garden is now scheduled to reopen June 10, a week later than originally projected.”
– MPR News, Walker Art Center’s sculpture garden to reopen later, following ‘Scaffold’ controversy.
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Download the 18″x24″ poster (.pdf), Indian Country 52 #22 – Open to all Genocide$ (Walker Art Center).
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Indian Country 52
Indian Country 52 is a weekly project by David Bernie that uses the medium of posters that promote issues and stories in Indian Country.
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This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
