Why Does This All Feel So Familiar?
Why Does This All Feel So Familiar?
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Why Does This All Feel So Familiar? An Art Historical Perspective
Why Does This All Feel So Familiar? An Art Historical Perspective
This zine was one of my personal projects, intended for both students and colleagues, in order to put some language to the ways in which the arts are being deployed by the current administration, and how these processes have appeared in fascistic/authoritarian governments before (namely, the Nazi regime). Several art historians have made this observation before me, but I wanted to put this information in an accessible and understandable mode. Throughout the zine, I define terms such as 'cultural bolshevism' and 'aesthetics' to ensure readers are fully grasping the depth of my analysis.
It is best suited for 11" x 17" paper (US Tabloid), and can be printed in both color and B&W. Because of the dense nature of this zine, it does not fit on standard 8.5" x 11"! I'm going to work on making a printable booklet at some point in the future that will be easier to print on a typical printer. I've also linked a guide which shows how to properly fold the zine.
**Please note, this is a double-sided zine; if you print it out, make sure to enable double sided printing as there is a works cited page on the reverse.** For convenience, I've also included the works cited below.
Works Cited
Works Cited
Benjamin, Walter. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." In Illuminations: Essays and Reflections, edited by Hannah Arendt, translated by Harry Zohn, 217–51. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.
Schultze-Naumburg, Paul. “Art and Race” (1928). In German History in Documents and Images, https://germanhistorydocs.org/en weimar-germany-1918-1933/ghdi:document-3907
Arieli‐Horowitz, Dana. 1998. “The Jew as ‘Destroyer of Culture’ in National Socialist Ideology.” Patterns of Prejudice 32 (1): 51–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/0031322X.1998.9970247.
Werner, Alfred. “Hitler’s Kampf against Modern Art: A Retrospect.” The Antioch Review 26, no. 1 (1966): 56–67. https://doi.org/10.2307/4610739.
Hickley, Catherine. “‘Degenerate Art’ Database Shows 21,000 Works Seized by Nazis.” Bloomberg.com, April 21, 2010. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-04-21/-degenerate-art-list-counts-21-000-works-seized-by-nazis-for-goebbels
Ziegler, Adolf. “Speech at the Opening of the Degenerate Art Exhibition (1937).” In The Third Reich Sourcebook, 1st ed., edited by ANSON RABINBACH and SANDER L. GILMAN. University of California Press, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt3fh2rm.249.
Hitler, Adolf. “Speech at the Opening of the Great German Art Exhibition (1937).” In The Third Reich Sourcebook, 1st ed., edited by ANSON RABINBACH and SANDER L. GILMAN. University of California Press, 2013. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt3fh2rm.248.
Adam, Peter. “The Visualization of the National Socialist Ideology.” In Art of the Third Reich. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1995, 127-173. https://archive.org/details/arthrr.
Griffin, Roger. "Building the Visible Immortality of the Nation: The Centrality of ‘Rooted Modernism’ to the Third Reich’s Architectural New Order", Fascism 7, 1 (2018): 9-44.https://doi.org/10.1163/22116257-00701002.
Scobie, Alexander. Hitler’s State Architecture: The Impact of Classical Antiquity. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1990.
Ibid, 133.
“Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The White House, March 28, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/.
Sentner, Irie. “Vance to Wipe ‘Improper Ideology’ from the Smithsonian - Politico.” Politico, March 28, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/28/jd-vance-smithsonian-ideology-028386.
Greenberger, Alex. “Trump Fires National Portrait Gallery Director for Being a ‘Strong Supporter of Dei.’” ARTnews.com, May 30, 2025. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/national-portrait-gallery-director-fired-trump-1234743964/.
Baum, S. “Donald Trump Orders Women’s History Museum to Remove Trans People or Lose Funding.” Advocate.com, April 9, 2025. https://www.advocate.com/politics/womens-history-museum-trans-trump.
Alcindor, Yamiche, Camille Respess, and Jordan Malter. “Critics Question Why Exhibits at the African American History Museum Are Rotating Out.” NBC News , November 19, 2025. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/critics-question-exhibits-african-american-history-museum-are-rotating-rcna207432.
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