Thomas Hirschhorn Gramsci Monument

Thomas Hirschhorn one of the few Swiss artists of world renown often touches on social wounds with his provocative works In 2013 Hirschhorn built a monument for Italian philosopher and communist Antonio Gramsci in a public housing project in the Bronx The contentious artist collaborated with neighborhood residents whose everyday life is impacted by poverty unemployment and crime Conflicts and misunderstandings are bound to arise as Hirschhorns absolute devotion to art is confronted with the residents lack of prospects and fatalistic outlooks The Gramsci Monument becomes a summerlong experiment where diverse worlds collide blacks and whites the art elite and street kids party people and poets politicians and philosophers A nuanced film about art politics and passion