A spokesperson says---
“... Monumental: Sculpture by Dr. Charles Smith... examines his expansive output of sculptures through the lens of “anti-monumentalism,” a contemporary art form designed to challenge, invert or reject the conventions of traditional monuments. Dr. Charles Smith (b. 1940) served as a U.S. Marine in Vietnam, an experience that informed his artistic practice. Smith began sculpting monuments and memorials dedicated to the histories, cultural moments and portrayals of everyday life experienced by African Americans and Black people in America 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. The subject matter of Smith’s work ranges widely from memorials dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina to the Underground Railroad and even to Chicago’s first Black postmaster, Henry McGee..."
