12/2/2023 0 Comments Hanging scaffold imagesTaf Hassam will be presenting Some Cruel & Unusual Records, a collection of topical songs relating to the death penalty in the United States, specifically historical instances of both civil rights activists and other politically engaged citizens being issued this sentence - from the nineteenth century up until the present day. As the effigy practices are closely related to formal and informal justice, the lecture draws parallels with Sam Durants work Scaffold and its subject, the iconic official executions by hanging in US history. Looking at this alternative history of effigy protests, one can easily trace the societal conflicts haunting the United States: the formation of the Union through the struggle against British rule, the abolition of slavery, the civil war, WWI, depression, WWII, civil rights issues, racial segregation, contentious wars overseas, and the current partisanship.Įnacting this performative practice, the protesters enter the discourse about the constitution of a just society, of legal and political legitimacy, political representation, the role of the citizens, and the possibilities of direct action. In his lecture Florian Göttke delineates the practice in US history from the burning in effigy of British tax officials and loyalists in the American Revolution until the hanging and burning of the last two US presidents Bush and Obama. The practice is full of ambiguities and slippages, as the protesters readily incorporate influences and combine practices from various origins (annual purification rituals, carnival, formal justice, and communal shaming) for diverse purposes. Hanging or burning effigies as a sign of dissent is a longstanding and recurring practice in political protests, performed in demonstrations all over Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, North Africa, India and many other Asian countries. Sam Durant's Scaffold will function as a platform. Taf Hassam presents a collections songs and pamphlets related to the death penalty. Artist Florian Göttke talks about hanging or burning effigies as a sign of dissent in political protests.
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