Stop by the store to learn about the history of one of Philadelphia’s most famous and recognizable monuments and what it means to be the underdog.
About the Book
An exploration of the impact and cultural significance of the legendary Rocky statue located at the foot of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s steps
Fifty years after the premiere of the original Rocky movie, the legacy of the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa endures, as millions of people visit the Rocky statue located outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art each year. Commemorating the most famous Philadelphian who never lived, the landmark has become a monument with its own cultural mystique. In Rising Up, Paul Farber and a diverse group of scholars, cultural figures, literary critics, and artists tell the stories around the statue―of immigrant neighborhoods, Philadelphia’s Black boxing legends, the fight for the future of public spaces, and the changing meanings of monuments today. These stories reveal how our monuments reflect civic power and historical identity while raising questions about social belonging. Recalling Rocky’s story of going the distance, Rising Up also asks why we root for underdogs, untangling the dualities of struggle and triumph, vulnerability and strength, and strife and solidarity embodied in the iconic statue.
About the Author
Dr. Paul M. Farber (he or they) is among the nation's thought leaders on monuments, memory, and public space. He is the Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab, a nonprofit public art, history, and design studio based in Philadelphia reimagining monuments as places of learning, healing, and belonging.
In addition to his work with Monument Lab, Farber has held academic appointments at the University of Pennsylvania, Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at the George Washington University, and Haverford College. He served as curator for the inaugural Artist-in-Residence Program at the Office of the District Attorney of Philadelphia (2020), keynote speaker for the Americans for the Arts national conference (2020), and Scholar in Residence at Mural Arts Philadelphia (2015–2017), and an advisor to numerous monument and memorial projects including for the City of Newark and the Emmett Till Interpretive Center. His work on culture has also previously appeared in The Guardian, Brooklyn Rail, Al Jazeera, Museums & Social Issues, Diplomatic History, Art & the Public Sphere, Vibe, and on NPR.
Farber was born and raised in Philadelphia's Mt. Airy neighborhood. He holds a PhD from the University of Michigan in American Culture and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania in Urban Studies. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (New York, NY), Board of Directors of A Long Walk Home (Chicago, IL), and Advisory Board of the Humboldt Forum (Berlin, Germany).