Thomas Hirschhorn: Gramsci Monument

In 2013, Dia Art Foundation commissioned Thomas Hirschhorn to build Gramsci Monument, an overwhelming, complex and excessive outdoor sculpture that measured 8,000 square feet and was located on the grounds of Forest Houses, a New York City Housing Authority development in the Bronx, New York. On display for 77 days, with daily and weekly events organized by the artist, Gramsci Monument concluded Hirschhorn's series of "monuments" dedicated to philosophers, which began in 1999. Grounded in the love of Antonio Gramsci's work and life, specifically his fundamental concept of the "organic intellectual," this publication takes the form of a manual that details the complexity of creating an art work in public space, bringing together contemporary scholarship alongside accounts from residents, participants and visitors.