Abstract
In recent public art ethics literature, people often consider reasons why monuments and memorials should be preserved, removed, or modified, with less consideration of what kinds of new works we should create. Moreover, most examples of racist or colonial commemorations that philosophers draw on only depict men, and this limited scope extends to their theoretical approaches as well, which often lack feminist and decolonial considerations. In this study, I first evaluate some existing public art ethics literature in relation to the work of feminist and decolonial philosophers, to demonstrate the importance of greater attention to women – including queer women, women of color, and indigenous women – in discussions of what sorts of works we ought to create or remove. Focusing on figural – as opposed to abstract – representations of women in public art, I argue that we should create works grounded in a positive evaluation of women, while also opposing sexist, heterosexist, racist, and colonial oppression. We ought to create these positive evaluations not only to create greater representation of women in public space and to allow people to engage with feminist and queer history, but also because these works are intrinsically valuable, insofar as they convey women’s moral worth. Given my focus on figural representations of women, I offer reasons why we should create these public positive evaluations of particular women, that is, why we should personalize our praise. Finally, I briefly outline some conditions a work may fulfill to be considered feminist or otherwise opposing oppression.
Presenters
Chloe BergerPhD Student, Spanish and Portuguese, University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Ethics, Public Art, Commemoration, Feminist Philosophy, Decolonial Philosophy
