The Controversy at Rockefeller Center: Phantom Publics, Aesthetic Barbarians

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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Topics: discourse analysis multilingual writers

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Also cites 5 works outside this index ↓

Blair (2001)

Reflections on Criticisms and Bodies: Parables from Public Places

Western Journal of Communication ↗
Buxton (2009)

Patronizing the Public

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Engels (2008)

Democratic Alienation

Rhetoric and Public Affairs ↗
Scott (1977)

Diego Rivera at Rockefeller Center: Fresco painting and Rhetoric

Western Journal of Speech Communication ↗
Uitermark (2008)

Civilising the City: Populism and Revanchist Urbanism in Rotterdam

Urban Studies ↗

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