MONOCULTURE | A Recent History

The Pinkerton National Detective Agency is a private law enforcement organization founded in 1850 in the United States. It has become famous for preventing a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln as well as for serving as a service for businessmen who in the 19th and early 20th century wanted to control and intimidate their employees. “In Ludlow, Colorado, sent a train-load of Pinkerton men to kill the striking miners. Mr. Rockefeller did it.”, reveals the text in Durham’s artwork Miscellaneous Ludlow Characters. In the piece Articles 2 and 3..., Jimmie Durham articulates his commentary combining its political dimension with a cartoon-like sculpture and handwritten text, creating a complex and paradoxical statement.