You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
This review essay focuses on the recent exhibition “Mirroring Evil: Nazi Imagery/Recent Art” at the Jewish Museum in New York. It asks questions about how the controversy surrounding this show shaped the way it was seen. It uses the notion of refraction to help explain why it remains so difficult for Americans and Jews alike to visualize evil in our own midst, especially after September 11, 2001. Entering into the space of the exhibition, it then demonstrates how particular works of contemporary art can make both visual and visceral the traces of Nazi aesthetics in contemporary culture.