On the Spatial Location of Contentious Public Displays

The debate over whether or not to remove statues of historical leaders who fought to maintain the institution of slavery or to extend the reaches of colonial empire is becoming increasingly divisive in parts of America and Europe. Public outrage has politicized once unproblematic statues that, in a less contentious era, were viewed simply as Public Art. Who determines the political content of these memorials? If there is no consensus among the public regarding the civic value of these monuments, then what purpose do they serve? Using Richmond, VA, Chicago, IL, and Munich, Germany as illustrative cases, this paper develops a theory of public display that is intended to structure the contemporary debate. The proposed framework explains how and why a display’s “intent” and “spatial location” may impact its public reception. I introduce the concept of semi-public curation which makes it possible to preserve these monuments’ standing within the historical record by re-locating them to spaces more appropriate for individual reflection than public celebration.