Dec. 3, 2024
The chameleon seated at the desk represents the Soviet-era bureaucrat who had, in the perestroika era of the late 1980s, become eligible as a satirical target. This is the figure of the sycophantic, opportunist bureaucrat who monitors the direction of the wind and alters their self-presentation accordingly. The text on the chameleon’s body represents slogans from different ideological pivot points in Soviet history.

The chameleon seated at the desk represents the Soviet-era bureaucrat who had, in the perestroika era of the late 1980s, become eligible as a satirical target. This is the figure of the sycophantic, opportunist bureaucrat who monitors the direction of the wind and alters their self-presentation accordingly. The text on the chameleon’s body represents slogans from different ideological pivot points in Soviet history.

The following is the fifth in a series of inside looks at the current exhibition in Princeton University Library's Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery in Firestone Library - “Monsters and Machines: Caricature, Visual Satire, and the Twentieth-Century Bestiary.”

“Monsters & Machines: Caricature, Visual Satire, and the Twentieth-Century Bestiary” examines the global use of bestiary in visual satire during the period from the beginning of World War I through the end of the Cold War. The exhibition is curated by a team of PUL librarians: Thomas Keenan, Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Librarian; Lidia Santarelli, (formerly) Metadata Librarian, Modern Greek Specialty; Deborah Schlein, Near Eastern Studies Librarian; and Alain St. Pierre, Librarian for History, History of Science, and African Studies.

Serpentine and reptilian monsters – often reminiscent of the insidious deceiver and tempter that invades and poisons an otherwise peaceful, just, and flourishing world in Judeo-Christian scripture – appear frequently in 20th-century visual satire. Other variants include the ancient symbol of the ouroboros (a snake swallowing its own tail) as an emblem for a closed vicious cycle of propaganda and lies. There are also depictions of snake charming as a visual metaphor for a group of vicious people being manipulated and weaponized by a more powerful villain. Finally, there is the chameleon, who camouflages its true nature under false, changing outward appearances, used to represent the cynical opportunist who alters their self-presentation to secure advantages in changing circumstances.

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The exhibition is open and free to the public during Milberg Gallery hours of operation, September 12 through December 8, 2024.

Discover more through the accompanying digital exhibit.

Media Contact: Stephanie Oster, Library Publicity Manager