Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments

Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments

Farber, Paul M.
Allen, Laurie
Brown, Garrett

Paperback

Film StudiesGeneral ArtSculpture & Installation

Publisher Price: $25.00

ISBN10: 0876333102
ISBN13: 9780876333105
Publisher: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Published: May 12 2026
Pages: 140
Weight: 0.66
Height: 0.43 Width: 5.24 Depth: 10.05
Language: English

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.

Distributed for the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Exhibition Schedule:

Philadelphia Museum of Art

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