A highly anticipated exhibition titled "Monuments" has opened this week at two Los Angeles venues - the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and the Brick - presenting a powerful confrontation with America's history of white supremacy and Black subjugation. The exhibition creates compelling dialogues between contemporary artworks and actual Confederate monuments that were removed and decommissioned during the racial reckonings of recent years.
The physical challenge of mounting this exhibition proved as monumental as its conceptual weight. These Confederate statues, even after being toppled from their granite pedestals in Maryland and Virginia, tower as high as 16 feet and weigh up to 15,000 pounds, pushing museum logistics to their absolute limits. The exhibition's three curators - Hamza Walker (director of the Brick), MOCA curator Bennett Simpson, and renowned artist Kara Walker - repeatedly expressed gratitude to their preparators during various openings and previews last week.
One of the most challenging pieces to install was a double monument featuring Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, on loan from the city of Baltimore. The massive sculpture required road closures during transport and the careful coordination of two Versa-lifts to position it properly within the gallery space. The logistical complexity underscored the original permanence these monuments were designed to embody.
Accommodating the monumental statuary within gallery spaces presented additional architectural challenges. MOCA's Geffen Contemporary location, formerly a police car warehouse, seemed perfectly suited for this exhibition with its soaring 35-foot ceilings. However, the Brick's main exhibition space stands only 14 feet tall, creating dramatic spatial tensions with the oversized works.
Kara Walker's radical contribution to the show demonstrates this spatial challenge most vividly. Her reconfiguration of an actual Confederate monument depicting the war-hungry Jackson on horseback - with the horse's neck and bridle positioned atop the beheaded figure - appears to scrape against the ceiling. Three slices she carved from the statue's enormous granite base, displayed nearby, weigh between 5,000 and 12,000 pounds each, titled "Unmanned Drone" (2023).
"Those things were never made to be moved," explains Hamza Walker. "It's not like a work of contemporary art, where everyone's thinking: how big are the doors for that to go through?" This contrast becomes evident when comparing the Confederate monuments to purpose-built contemporary pieces in the exhibition.
Hank Willis Thomas's replica of a 1969 orange Dodge Charger presents an upended version of the General Lee car from "The Dukes of Hazzard" television series, essentially overturning the adventures of those "good ole boys." Engineered by a Hollywood prop shop in 2019 specifically for mobility, this work has been exhibited widely since its creation, demonstrating how contemporary art anticipates travel and display requirements.
Karon Davis contributes a new sculpture titled "Descendant" (2025), which appears monumentally heavy but was designed to be lighter than it looks. The work depicts a larger-than-life version of her son holding a tiny Confederate sculpture by the horse's tail, as if it were a rat's tail, completely flipping the traditional script that monumentalizes white bodies while diminishing Black presence.
Ann Goldstein, MOCA's interim director, compared the installation challenges to a previous logistical nightmare from 1998, when the museum had to open up walls at the Geffen Contemporary to accommodate Richard Serra sculptures. The comparison highlights the exceptional nature of this current undertaking and the institutional commitment required to present such physically demanding work.
As for the exhibition's future, Goldstein makes it clear that this show will remain uniquely tied to Los Angeles. "No, it's here, it's the only place it could be," she states definitively when asked about potential travel plans. The statement underscores both the logistical impossibility of moving these works again and perhaps the unique cultural moment that has made this exhibition possible in this specific location.
"Monuments" runs from October 23 through May 3, 2026, at both the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA and the Brick in Los Angeles, offering visitors an unprecedented opportunity to confront these symbols of America's troubled past within the context of contemporary artistic dialogue.
