"Unsettling the Past: Kara Walker's Monumental Challenge"
At the Geffen Contemporary of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, a thought-provoking exhibition titled "Monuments" is on display, challenging viewers to rethink their relationship with historical memorials. Curated by Bethany Collins, Abigail DeVille, Karon Davis, and Kara Walker among others, this show juxtaposes decommissioned monuments – many of which are Confederate in nature – with innovative, newly commissioned works that offer a fresh perspective on the concept of memorial structures.
Kara Walker's "Unmanned Drone" (2023) is a striking piece that showcases the artist's ability to merge seemingly disparate elements. The equestrian sculpture of Stonewall Jackson is reimagined, with its horse's snout protruding from between its legs as if it's disappearing. This powerful piece not only tackles issues of racism and Confederate symbolism but also subverts traditional notions of monumentality.
Collaborating with other artists such as 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, the exhibition offers a diverse range of approaches to the topic. For example, Everson's film "Practice, Practice, Practice" (2024) is a portrait of activist Richard Bradley, who in 1984 scaled a 40-foot pole dressed as a Union soldier to tear down a Confederate flag outside San Francisco's Civic Center.
The exhibition suggests that our approach to memorial structures needs to be reevaluated. The artists featured in "Monuments" propose innovative solutions that are more nuanced and effective than traditional monuments, which often perpetuate problematic ideologies. By challenging the status quo, these artists offer a vision for a future where memorials serve as a means of healing and reconciliation rather than celebration of divisive histories.
Through May 3, 2026, the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA's "Monuments" exhibition invites viewers to engage with this complex issue in a thought-provoking and visually stunning way.
At the Geffen Contemporary of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles, a thought-provoking exhibition titled "Monuments" is on display, challenging viewers to rethink their relationship with historical memorials. Curated by Bethany Collins, Abigail DeVille, Karon Davis, and Kara Walker among others, this show juxtaposes decommissioned monuments – many of which are Confederate in nature – with innovative, newly commissioned works that offer a fresh perspective on the concept of memorial structures.
Kara Walker's "Unmanned Drone" (2023) is a striking piece that showcases the artist's ability to merge seemingly disparate elements. The equestrian sculpture of Stonewall Jackson is reimagined, with its horse's snout protruding from between its legs as if it's disappearing. This powerful piece not only tackles issues of racism and Confederate symbolism but also subverts traditional notions of monumentality.
Collaborating with other artists such as 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, the exhibition offers a diverse range of approaches to the topic. For example, Everson's film "Practice, Practice, Practice" (2024) is a portrait of activist Richard Bradley, who in 1984 scaled a 40-foot pole dressed as a Union soldier to tear down a Confederate flag outside San Francisco's Civic Center.
The exhibition suggests that our approach to memorial structures needs to be reevaluated. The artists featured in "Monuments" propose innovative solutions that are more nuanced and effective than traditional monuments, which often perpetuate problematic ideologies. By challenging the status quo, these artists offer a vision for a future where memorials serve as a means of healing and reconciliation rather than celebration of divisive histories.
Through May 3, 2026, the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA's "Monuments" exhibition invites viewers to engage with this complex issue in a thought-provoking and visually stunning way.
I'm loving Kara Walker's "Unmanned Drone" - it's like she's literally dismantling the history books, fam! 
The way she reimagines that Confederate equestrian sculpture is pure genius, subverting our expectations of what a monument should look like. It's not just about challenging racism, but also about questioning the very notion of nostalgia and tradition. I mean, who needs nostalgia when we can have progress, right? 
The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this exhibition is exactly what we need - a wake-up call to rethink our relationship with history. It's time for us to move beyond these outdated memorials and create something new, something that actually reflects our values as a society. 
it's like she's takin' somethin' old and makin' it new again, kinda like how we should be doin' with our histories. i mean, can't we just have a more nuanced conversation about the past? 
maybe we can learn from it instead of just celebratin' or erasin' it. anyway, the exhibition looks dope 
gonna have to check it out myself
. It's so needed right now. Let's keep having these conversations and pushing for a better future! 
Her drone piece is giving me LIFE - it's like, how can u just take something that's meant to symbolize power & patriarchy & turn it into a commentary on racism & oppression?!? 
The way she subverts those traditional notions of monumentality is pure genius... I mean, who else could make an equestrian sculpture look so powerful & vulnerable at the same time?!? 
And can we talk about how cool it is that she's collaborating w/ other artists to bring a diverse range of perspectives to the table?!? It's like, this whole exhibit is just blowing my mind 
. and btw I'm so over how all these old statues gotta be taken down it's like, can't we just leave them be or something idk... this new era of monument-dismantling is wild
. Can't we move forward already? I mean, I get that Kara Walker is trying to make a point with her "Unmanned Drone" piece, but seriously, can't she just use digital art or something? All this fuss about Confederate symbols and monuments... it's like the same old thing, just packaged differently 
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the way she reimagines Stonewall Jackson's equestrian sculpture is pure genius 
let's celebrate art that sparks important conversations! 
I'm literally blown away by Kara Walker's "Unmanned Drone". Like, what even is that?! It's like she took all the problematic symbols of our past and just... turned them on their head. I mean, who wouldn't be unsettled when you see Stonewall Jackson's face stuck in his own horse's mouth? 
We need more of this kind of art, more artists who are willing to challenge the status quo and push us out of our comfort zones.
just saw that the 2024 Monsoon season has already displaced over a million people in India due to severe flooding 
and it's still not monsoon season yet...
it's time to rethink our approach to memorial structures and create something more inclusive and healing rather than just celebrating the past.
. I mean, Kara Walker is talented and all, but what's the point of turning old Confederate monuments into equestrian sculptures? It's like they're still perpetuating the same symbolism 
. And don't even get me started on the collaboration with other artists, it just feels like a bunch of trendy people getting together to say "look at us, we're progressive" 
. Give me something that actually adds to our cultural discourse, not just some fancy art piece 
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Like, don't they remember what happened back in the day? 
. and have you seen the layout of this website it's like they took every boring design principle from the 90s and mashed them together into one big mess 
this show is more about rethinking the whole concept of memorials, not just tearing them down for the sake of it. Kara Walker's drone piece is wild, I love how it subverts traditional monumentality