Images from The Museum of Authority

The Museum of Authority presents an exhibit of artifacts that pays tribute to clever and resourceful American brutality. On display are everyday objects used by Americans to torture and kill in the line of duty.

These large photographic documents are the natural history-style presentation of a contemporary condition. Horrible crimes perpetrated by Americans get pushed from our conscience by the dominant forces of politics and commerce. Since all America is implicated, we prefer it out of sight, out of mind.

Is it really possible that we could be capable of such things? The simulated museum display, a dispassionate exhibit of facts, allows the viewer to stand apart from this history, not a member of this exoticized other culture. But the Museum of Authority heroicizes these acts of domination, so the audience is not excused from participating and passing judgment.