Advances in the History of Rhetoric Jan 2014

The Controversy at Rockefeller Center: Phantom Publics, Aesthetic Barbarians

Caitlin Bruce

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article investigates the Rivera controversy at Rockefeller Center arguing that the controversy illuminates tensions in democratic culture over the role of the masses and their relation to the “legitimate” public, exhibited in anxieties about phantom publics and barbarian crowds. Beginning with critical discourse surrounding the construction of Rockefeller Center, the mural controversy is resituated within a broader frame in which revanchist anxieties and worry about mass media play a crucial role. Appeals during the construction of the building to the “public” character of the structure took on a life of their own during the apex of the Rivera controversy.

Journal
Advances in the History of Rhetoric
Published
2014-01-02
DOI
10.1080/15362426.2014.886931
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Open Access
Closed
Topics
discourse analysis
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (2)

  1. Thimsen (2018)
    The Lessons of Community Rights Ordinances for Democratic Philosophizing
    Philosophy & Rhetoric
  2. Ewalt (2016)
    Rhetoric, Poetics, and Jacques Rancière's The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lesso…
    Philosophy & Rhetoric

References (33)

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  2. (1933)
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  3. Blair (2001)
    Reflections on Criticisms and Bodies: Parables from Public Places
    Western Journal of Communication  ↗
  4. Butsch (2007)
    The Citizen Audience: Crowds, Publics, and Individuals
  5. Buxton (2009)
    Patronizing the Public
     ↗
Show all 33 →
  1. Cameron (1934)
    Letter to John D. Rockefeller from Raymond R. Cameron. February 15. [Original copy in Fol…
  2. Canetti (1984)
    Crowds and Power
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    Cartographic Navigation: Mapping Experience in Digital and Urban Spaces.”
  4. Cathcart (2001)
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    Evictions: Art and Spatial Politics
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    Democratic Alienation
    Rhetoric and Public Affairs  ↗
  7. Hays (1933)
    Letter from Arthur Hays to Diego Rivera. May 9. [Copy document number 25884, Casa Azul Ar…
  8. de Larrea (1987)
    Diego Rivera Paradise Lost at Rockefeller Center
  9. Hood (1932)
    Telegram from Raymond Hood to Diego Rivera. November 7. [Copy in Folder Diego Rivera, Obr…
  10. Hook (1933)
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  12. Marling (1982)
    Wall to Wall America: A Cultural History of Post-Office Murals in the Great Depression
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  21. Rockefeller (1987)
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  22. Scott (1977)
    Diego Rivera at Rockefeller Center: Fresco painting and Rhetoric
    Western Journal of Speech Communication  ↗
  23. Smith (1934)
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  24. Smith (1996)
    The New Urban Frontier: Gentrification and the Revanchist City
  25. Todd (1932)
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    Urban Studies  ↗
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