Los Angeles – The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has acquired “Unmanned Drone,” a powerful and provocative sculpture by artist Kara Walker. Created from a disassembled and reconfigured statue of Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson, the work stands as a central piece of the museum’s ongoing “Monuments” exhibition, sparking critical dialogue about American history and the legacy of Confederate iconography. The acquisition, announced Tuesday, adds to a significant expansion of MOCA’s permanent collection, which saw the addition of 158 works by 106 artists last year.
Walker’s sculpture, originally unveiled in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1921, was removed in 2017 following the deadly “Unite the Right” rally, becoming a focal point of the national debate surrounding Confederate monuments. The acquisition of “Unmanned Drone” signifies MOCA’s commitment to engaging with challenging and historically resonant artwork, offering a space for reflection on the complexities of American identity and memory. The expansion of MOCA’s collection this year reflects a “sustained and deeply collaborative effort to consider critically about what it means to build a museum collection in the twenty-first century,” according to Clara Kim, chief curator and director of curatorial affairs.
From Battlefield to Bronze: The Transformation of a Monument
The original Stonewall Jackson statue, a prominent fixture in Charlottesville for nearly a century, was dismantled after serving as a gathering point for white supremacists during the 2017 rally. The city of Charlottesville subsequently issued a request for proposals for the statue’s disposition, seeking organizations that would prevent its re-erection for purposes of “veneration,” as explained by Hamza Walker, director of The Brick, which co-presented the “Monuments” exhibition with MOCA. The Brick was ultimately awarded the statue in January 2022 and then entrusted it to Walker for reimagining.
