Monuments, [c]o-organized and co-presented by MOCA and The Brick, MONUMENTS marks the recent wave of monument removals as a historic
moment. The exhibition reflects on the histories and legacies of
post-Civil War America as they continue to resonate today, bringing
together a selection of decommissioned monuments, many of which are
Confederate, with contemporary artworks borrowed and newly created for
the occasion. Removed from their original outdoor public context, the
monuments in the exhibition will be shown in their varying states of
transformation, from unmarred to heavily vandalized.Co-curated by Hamza Walker, Director of The Brick; Bennett Simpson, Senior Curator at MOCA; and Kara Walker, artist; with Hannah
Burstein, Curatorial Associate at The Brick; and Paula Kroll, Curatorial
Assistant at MOCA, MONUMENTS considers the ways public monuments have
shaped national identity, historical memory, and current events. Following the racially motivated mass shooting at Mother
Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC (2015) and the deadly ‘Unite the
Right’ rally organized by white nationalists in Charlottesville, VA
(2017), alongside Bree Newsome’s powerful removal of the Confederate
flag at the South Carolina Statehouse (2015), the United States
witnessed the decommissioning of nearly 200 monuments. These removals
prompted a national debate that remains ongoing. MONUMENTS aims to
historicize these discussions in our current moment and provide a space
for crucial discourse and active engagements about challenging topics. MONUMENTS features newly commissioned artworks by
contemporary artists Bethany Collins, Abigail DeVille, Karon Davis, Stan
Douglas, Kahlil Robert Irving, Cauleen Smith, Kevin Jerome Everson,
Walter Price, Monument Lab, Davóne Tines and Julie Dash, and Kara
Walker. Additional artworks by Leonardo Drew, Torkwase Dyson, Nona
Faustine, Jon Henry, Hugh Mangum, Martin Puryear, Andres Serrano, and
Hank Willis Thomas, are borrowed from private collectors and
institutions. The exhibition presents decommissioned monuments borrowed
from the City of Baltimore, Maryland; the City of Montgomery, Alabama;
The Jefferson School for African American Heritage, Charlottesville,
Virginia; the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia,
Richmond; the Valentine, Richmond, Virginia; and The Daniels Family
Charitable Foundation, Raleigh, North Carolina. By juxtaposing these
objects with contemporary works, the exhibition expands the context in
which they are understood and highlights the gaps and omissions in
popular narratives of American history. MONUMENTS will be accompanied by a scholarly publication and a robust slate of public and educational programming.
