Hamza Walker, director of The Brick, will discuss his upcoming exhibition, “Monuments,” which examines American life and history after the Civil War through the lens of decommissioned monuments and contemporary art.
Hamza Walker , director of The Brick , an alternative, nonprofit visual art space in Los Angeles, will be visiting UC San Diego on March 3rd as a speaker to discuss his upcoming exhibition, “Monuments.” This exhibition explores American life and history after the Civil War , as well as the current state of civil rights in the United States, by juxtaposing decommissioned monuments with contemporary art .
Walker's inspiration for the exhibition stemmed from the 2017 events in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a planned removal of a Confederate statue sparked a right-wing rally and counter-protest. Witnessing the televised coverage of these events, Walker was struck by the simultaneous absurdity and stark reality of the unfolding situation. He realized that these monuments, far from representing neutral historical artifacts, actively perpetuate a specific narrative about the past. “Monuments” is the culmination of eight years of curatorial work by Walker, along with Kara Walker, Bennett Simpson, Hannah Burstein, and Paula Kroll. The exhibition features a range of decommissioned monuments, including a Stephen Foster monument from Pittsburgh, a statue titled “Emancipation Group” funded by formerly enslaved Black people, and street signs from Montgomery, Alabama, reflecting the city's history of segregation. These monuments are presented alongside contemporary art pieces that respond to the issues raised by the monuments, the Civil War, slavery, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement. Walker emphasizes that the exhibition aims to provoke critical reflection on what we choose to commemorate and what these monuments reveal about our values, our understanding of history, and our perceptions of each other. The exhibition's premise remains consistent throughout its development: decommissioned Confederate monuments juxtaposed with contemporary art. Walker highlights that while the wave of monument removals accelerated after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the conversation surrounding these monuments predates the Black Lives Matter movement. The events in Charlottesville in 2017, fueled by racial tensions stemming from police brutality and the ongoing legacy of slavery, brought the issue to the forefront. Walker underscores the enduring relevance of the Lost Cause ideology, which minimizes the role of slavery in the Civil War and romanticizes the Confederacy. He argues that the continued debate surrounding the cause of the Civil War ultimately points back to the central issue of slavery
Hamza Walker The Brick Monuments Exhibition Confederate Monuments Civil War Civil Rights Contemporary Art Lost Cause Charlottesville George Floyd Black Lives Matter
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