In Making Presence, the figure is central in the works of Nona Faustine, Joiri Minaya and Marisa Williamson. Their direct and indirect interventions into the landscape deconstruct the fraught politics of representation in monumental forms. By critically examining who is depicted, the artists highlight who is omitted. Their works present viewers with alternative perspectives on some of the most famous monuments in the United States – from New York’s Statue of Liberty and Christopher Columbus statue to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. and the many statues of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville, VA.
While grounded in photography, the practices of Faustine, Minaya and Williamson embrace printmaking, performance, textiles, sculpture and audience participation.
This section includes a digital flipbook of Williamson’s Postcard Book: The Ghost of Thomas Jefferson and gives viewers the opportunity to submit comments on Minaya’s work directly to the artist and curator.
