Dustin Klein, American
Reclaiming the Monument, 2020
The projections on Richmond, Virginia’s Robert E. Lee’s monument began in early June 2020 at the initiation of Dustin Klein, a graphic-visuals artist. The images are in black and white. While figural representations of figures like George Floyd and the Power Fist cover the monument’s pedestal, the horseback figure of Robert E. Lee himself is silhouetted entirely except for the illuminated letters BLM, an acronym for “Black Lives Matter.” Inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic in response to the police murders of George Floyd and other African-American victims, the projections seek to illuminate Black history of victimhood, resilience, and revolution. Calling attention to the plight of past and present Black Americans, Klein also projects images of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass—relating undisputed icons of American liberty with the contentious present of police brutality in the United States. Label by Hannah London