A few weeks ago, artist Sam Durant released a
long essay about his work, “Scaffold,” which reflects on the project that dominated art world headlines. Originally commissioned for
documenta (13) — the influential quinquennial exhibition in Kassel, Germany
— in 2012, it wasn’t until “Scaffold” was installed in the Walker Art Center’s sculpture park in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, that it was met with
protests by the local Dakota community.
That event was a lightning rod for a national conversation about appropriation, racism, and the role of artists, museums, curators, and others in those conversation. I invited Durant to join me on the podcast to discuss the reason he wrote this so many years after the fact and what he thinks the lessons are.
– Hrag Vartanian, editor-in-chief
