The Aesthetics of Fascism | Artist Talk by Brooks Turner

With the Teamsters Strike of 1934 and the success of the Farmer-Labor Party, Minnesota established itself in the 1930s as a U.S. center for progressive thinking and action across the political spectrum. At a distance, the Minnesota gubernatorial election of 1938 might appear as a simple synecdoche of national conversations around the war in Europe, the refugee crisis, economic depression, and labor rights. But, just beneath the surface, a tangled web of Fascist activity connected American Nazis to prominent businessmen, lawyers, and government officials. Over the last two years, Brooks Turner has traced these connections through documents archived in the Minnesota Historical Society, existing scholarship, and aesthetic analysis, focusing in particular on the Silver Legion of America, a national Fascist organization that found considerable support in Minnesota. Through drawing and collage, Turner has reassembled an aesthetic history of Fascism in Minnesota, the traces of which can still be seen throughout the Twin Cities and beyond.

This talk was recorded on October 28, 2020 with Weisman Art Museum Target Studio artist-in-residence Brooks Turner in conjunction with his exhibition Legends and Myths of Ancient Minnesota. Learn more: http://z.umn.edu/LegendsAndMyths

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