Monumental: Sculpture by Dr. Charles Smith

Monumental examines Dr. Charles Smith’s sculptures through the lens of anti-monumentalism, leaning on Smith’s critique of the lack of historical representation of African Americans and Black people in America. Anti-monumentalism is a contemporary art form designed to challenge, invert or reject the conventions of traditional monuments. Smith began sculpting monuments and memorials to champion histories, cultural moments and portrayals of everyday life typically left out of historical narratives. 

His first sculpture was a memorial to his fallen Black Vietnam comrades in celebration of Black History Month, built in his Aurora, Ill., yard, where he lived from 1986 to 2000 and made more than 600 sculptures. It was here that he opened The African American Heritage Museum & Black Veterans Archive (AAHM & BVA) as part of his work. In 2000, Smith moved to Hammond, La., where he produced several hundred more works dedicated to honoring the lives and history of African Americans and members of his community, as well as the second AAHM & BVA. The subject matter of Smith’s work ranges widely from memorials dedicated to the victims of hurricane Katrina, the Underground Railroad, and even to Chicago’s first Black postmaster, Henry McGee. Through his work, Smith recenters historical narrative by challenging who is commemorated, who is remembered and who gets to tell the story.