Los Angeles is currently playing host to a powerful and provocative art exhibition that directly challenges the enduring legacy of Confederate monuments. Titled “Monuments,” the show, presented across The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and The Brick, features decommissioned statues, many of them Confederate, recontextualized alongside contemporary artworks. This bold presentation serves as a stark counterpoint to political movements aimed at restoring or preserving these controversial symbols of the nation’s divisive past.
A Provocative Juxtaposition
The “Monuments” exhibition, co-organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles and The Brick, brings together nearly a dozen removed statues, some towering up to 15 feet. These historical markers, which have been flashpoints in America’s cultural wars for years, are displayed in varying states – from pristine to heavily vandalized. They are placed in dialogue with new works and historic sculptures, creating a layered narrative that probes the complexities of American history, white supremacy, and the “Lost Cause mythology”.
Among the most striking pieces is Kara Walker’s radical deconstruction of a monument to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. Titled “Unmanned Drone,” the sculpture was created by dissecting the original equestrian statue and reassembling its parts into a disfigured, monstrous form. Jackson’s faceless head perches on the beast’s snout, his legs dangle backward, and his clenched fist lies on the ground, transforming a symbol of military valor into a haunting effigy of violence and trauma.
Other notable works include the “Confederate Women of Maryland” statue, presented at MOCA alongside photographs by Jon Henry featuring Black mothers holding their sons in evocative pietà-like poses. The remnants of a Robert E. Lee statue, famously at the center of the 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally and later melted down, are also on display in their bronze ingot form, juxtaposed with Hank Willis Thomas’s “A Suspension of Hostilities” – a sculpture of a car from “The Dukes of Hazzard” adorned with a Confederate flag, which crashes into the ground.
Confronting the ‘Lost Cause’ Narrative
The “Monuments” exhibition directly confronts the “Lost Cause” narrative, a revisionist interpretation of the Civil War that romanticizes the Confederacy and downplays the role of slavery. By bringing these removed monuments into an art context, curators aim to expand the understanding of their historical significance and highlight the omissions and distortions in popular American historical accounts. The exhibition challenges viewers to rethink these symbols, moving them from public pedestals intended for veneration to spaces that encourage critical examination and dialogue.
A Political and Cultural Backdrop
The show’s opening arrives at a time of heightened tension surrounding Confederate symbols. While many monuments have been removed or defaced by protesters following events like the murder of George Floyd and the Charlottesville rally, the Trump administration has actively sought to restore and protect Confederate symbols. President Trump’s executive orders have targeted cultural institutions and called for the review and potential reinstallation of Confederate monuments and military base names, framing such actions as a defense of American history against “anti-American ideology”. This political climate amplifies the exhibition’s urgency and its role as a form of artistic resistance.
Curatorial Vision and Significance
Co-curated by Hamza Walker (Director, The Brick), Bennett Simpson (Senior Curator, MOCA), and artist Kara Walker, the exhibition’s conception dates back to 2019. The curators aimed to historicize the ongoing debates around monuments and create a platform for crucial discourse. “Monuments” features contributions from nearly 20 contemporary artists, each offering thoughtful and poetic retorts to the historical markers.
The exhibition is not merely a display of historical artifacts but a significant intervention into the national conversation about memory, race, and justice. By placing these charged objects in an art context and pairing them with contemporary artistic responses, “Monuments” provides a vital space for grappling with the uncomfortable truths of America’s past and present. It is a featured exhibition that demands attention from Los Angeles audiences and beyond, offering a critical lens through which to view history and its ongoing impact. The show runs through May 3, 2026, at both The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and The Brick.
