A sculpture made of corrugated cardboard and gold wrapping paper hangs on the wall like a bulky chain, reading "CNN-CHAIN." Thomas Hirschhorn's 2002 piece, measuring a sprawling 98 1/2 x 31 1/2 x 4 inches, uses cheap, throwaway materials to draw a direct equivalence between news media and bondage through the shape of a "chain." This technique of forging heavy metaphors out of humble materials makes it one of the most memorable pieces in "Turn the volume up!", the new exhibition at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
The exhibition divides its collection into five thematic sections: Remarks, Organize, Records, Dissents, and Petitions—breaking down the act of "speaking up" into five modes of action: speech, organizing, documentation, dissent, and petition. Works will rotate throughout the exhibition period, so visitors won't see the entire collection in one visit, but each trip may reveal a different combination. The exhibition opens August 27 and runs through July 11, 2027; the museum's concurrent show "Everything Now All at Once" runs through November 1.
The photography section includes two works from Bruce Davidson's "Time of Change" series: a 1962 gelatin silver print measuring 10 x 8 inches, and an 8 x 11 inch piece shot between 1963 and 1965, printed on resin-coated paper. Davidson spent years documenting the Jim Crow-era South and impoverished communities in New York City, capturing scenes with unflinching directness. Also documenting the Civil Rights Movement is Spider Martin's "Dr. King Speaks to the Crowd of 25,000 People at the March's End," shot in 1965 and printed as an archival digital print, 24 x 35 1/2 inches, numbered 2/3.
