The structure the labor the foundation the escape the pause

About
Simmons’ trio of sculptures combine massive steel abstract forms with landscapes of text culled from historical documents that are foundational to centuries of racial caste construction, white supremacy and disenfranchisement in the United States.

Excerpts from the 1865 Civil War military command, Special Field Orders no. 15, highlight a pivotal historical moment when the U.S. government briefly granted land and federal protections to Black Americans upon their emancipation from the American system of slavery.

This real historical anchor (known colloquially as 40 Acres And A Mule) flickers between likeness (in message) and contrast (in linguistic style) with the second text, which is a woven amalgamation of contemporary calls for reparations to the descendants of American Slavery.

Together the works draw upon systemic promises thus far denied while embracing the sustainability of the revolutionary impulse through the centering of policy language and the centuries long calls for repair from the Black American community.

The language is tied directly to our current revolutionary moment and its links to the past, present and future. These works offer access to some of the foundational language of long-standing governmental policies that, if revisited advocated for and implemented would monumentally (fundamentally) shift the American material landscape and the social conditions we live within presently.
Programming
Artist & Curator Conversation
Simmons spoke about her installation with Socrates’ Curator, Jess Wilcox, via Zoom and Facebook Live on Friday, September 11 at 5pm.

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The artist also thanks the Art for Justice Fund for their lasting support of her work.
‘https://socratessculpturepark.org/monuments-now/MONUMENTS NOW’
PART I: https://socratessculpturepark.org/exhibition/jeffrey-gibson/Jeffrey Gibson, https://socratessculpturepark.org/exhibition/ramirez-jonas/Paul Ramírez Jonas, https://socratessculpturepark.org/exhibition/simmons/Xaviera Simmons
PART II: ‘https://socratessculpturepark.org/exhibition/call-and-response/Call and Response’
PART III: ‘https://socratessculpturepark.org/exhibition/monuments-now-part-iii-the-next-generation/The Next Generation’
+ https://socratessculpturepark.org/exhibition/billboard-faustine/The Broadway Billboard & “https://socratessculpturepark.org/lets-talk/Let’s Talk”

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