The Elephant in the Room: Prejudicial Public Art and Cultural Vandalism

Abstract Prejudicial public art is a visible yet often ignored social and cultural problem. Recently, however, it has commanded popular and mass media attention as increasing numbers of publics around the world have begun to grapple with its meanings and messages and take the history that it embodies to task. In September 2017, for example, New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, appointed a commission to advise him about “how the City should address monuments seen as oppressive and inconsistent with the values of New York City.” This essay focuses especially on how and why American publics in New York and elsewhere are reckoning with controversial examples of public art today.