Focusing on photographs depicting the domestic display of three US presidential icons – Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Barack Obama – Jennifer Wingate examines everyday expressions of national pride and belonging alongside the tension that these displays signal about the state of democracy.
Wingate explores how, although keeping political portraits in the home is traditionally associated with authoritarian regimes, the United States also has a long history with the practice as both a patriotic and commemorative act. Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Obama are particularly representative of this history, she contends, as the rise of radio, television, and social media respectively allowed them to enter the intimate spaces of our daily lives in unprecedented ways.
While photographers and artists such as Jack Delano, Gordon Parks, and Jordan Casteel draw attention to these displays of pride and belonging, they also reveal the tensions that these portraits represent as the artists and their subjects strive to make meaning from national symbols and to locate their place within the imagined community of nationhood. In doing so, Wingate argues, they invite reflection on our hopes and anxieties about the state of our nation's democracy.
Wingate explores how, although keeping political portraits in the home is traditionally associated with authoritarian regimes, the United States also has a long history with the practice as both a patriotic and commemorative act. Roosevelt, Kennedy, and Obama are particularly representative of this history, she contends, as the rise of radio, television, and social media respectively allowed them to enter the intimate spaces of our daily lives in unprecedented ways.
While photographers and artists such as Jack Delano, Gordon Parks, and Jordan Casteel draw attention to these displays of pride and belonging, they also reveal the tensions that these portraits represent as the artists and their subjects strive to make meaning from national symbols and to locate their place within the imagined community of nationhood. In doing so, Wingate argues, they invite reflection on our hopes and anxieties about the state of our nation's democracy.
Betala smidigt med kort, Klarna, Apple Pay eller Google Pay. Är du inte nöjd har du alltid 14 dagars ångerrätt. Läs mer i våra villkor. Har du några frågor, mejla oss på hello@memmo.org.
Memmo gör det enklare att plugga – var du än är i världen. Hos oss samlar du kursböcker och smarta studieverktyg på ett och samma ställe: sammanfattningar, quiz, poddar och flashcards. Och så Ted, din studiekompis som svarar på allt du undrar. Över 75 000 studenter pluggar redan här – byggt för att du ska lära dig snabbare och stressa mindre.