1 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:12,560 [Thomas Hirschhorn: "Gramsci Monument"] 2 00:00:17,620 --> 00:00:21,440 [Forest Houses, Bronx, New York] 3 00:00:22,980 --> 00:00:25,620 ["Gramsci Monument" (2013)] 4 00:00:26,340 --> 00:00:29,840 [Opening of the "Gramsci Monument"] 5 00:00:35,580 --> 00:00:37,420 [HARRY DRAKE] Alright, sorry to interrupt. 6 00:00:37,430 --> 00:00:41,530 This is the man of the hour. 7 00:00:41,530 --> 00:00:45,620 This is the man, besides Erik, that brought everything to us. 8 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:49,220 [YASMIL RAYMOND] Thomas believes that "more is more." 9 00:00:49,230 --> 00:00:54,649 You know, it's a pun on Mies van der Rohe, who said, "less is more." 10 00:00:54,649 --> 00:00:59,059 And in this "more and more" philosophy of Thomas Hirschhorn, 11 00:00:59,059 --> 00:01:03,499 it means an enormous amount of activities all the time, 12 00:01:03,499 --> 00:01:05,840 almost confusing what is happening. 13 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,240 [HARRY DRAKE] What you are doing for this community and everything... 14 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:11,970 [HIRSCHHORN] No I don't... 15 00:01:11,970 --> 00:01:14,330 I don't do something for the community. 16 00:01:14,330 --> 00:01:16,470 I do something, I hope, for art... 17 00:01:16,470 --> 00:01:17,440 [HARRY DRAKE] Okay. 18 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:20,120 [HIRSCHHORN] And the understanding of art. That is my... 19 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:21,570 My goal is this. 20 00:01:22,540 --> 00:01:24,100 [LEX BROWN] Something Thomas always says is that 21 00:01:24,110 --> 00:01:26,370 he did not come here to, like, help people-- 22 00:01:26,370 --> 00:01:30,890 he came here to Forest Houses and asked people who lived here 23 00:01:30,890 --> 00:01:33,750 to help him make the artwork. 24 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:39,520 And there's a really big difference. 25 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:42,520 There's a huge difference between those two things. 26 00:01:46,260 --> 00:01:52,420 [FREDDY VELEZ] Thomas asked me to translate the Gramsci prison notes to Spanish. 27 00:01:52,430 --> 00:01:54,340 That was a great opportunity for me, 28 00:01:54,340 --> 00:02:00,100 and I just put retirement to the side and just began working with his art. 29 00:02:00,100 --> 00:02:05,170 And here I am today, two months later, enjoying myself every day-- 30 00:02:05,170 --> 00:02:07,190 and I feel a lot better. 31 00:02:11,420 --> 00:02:14,620 [JANET BETHEA] I was more stronger than half of the men over there. 32 00:02:14,620 --> 00:02:16,260 I built them buildings. 33 00:02:16,260 --> 00:02:19,610 I did the dollies underneath there, on the floor. 34 00:02:19,610 --> 00:02:21,920 I did all that with the guys. 35 00:02:21,920 --> 00:02:27,080 Except for the roof. I'm scared of heights. [LAUGHS] 36 00:02:36,660 --> 00:02:37,900 [STANLEY SCOTT] My name is "Stan the Man". 37 00:02:37,900 --> 00:02:38,820 [WOMAN] "Stan the Man"? 38 00:02:38,820 --> 00:02:39,700 [STANLEY SCOTT] "Stan the Man". 39 00:02:39,700 --> 00:02:40,429 [WOMAN] Oh, I saw your sign. 40 00:02:40,429 --> 00:02:41,029 [STANLEY SCOTT] Yes indeed. 41 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:42,720 And I work for love. 42 00:02:43,500 --> 00:02:44,230 [WOMAN] We know! 43 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:45,640 [STANLEY SCOTT] It's not about the bills. 44 00:02:45,640 --> 00:02:46,500 I don't deal with the... 45 00:02:46,500 --> 00:02:47,850 It's not about the money. 46 00:02:47,850 --> 00:02:49,560 Anything I make, I make from my heart. 47 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:50,209 Because I ain't... 48 00:02:50,209 --> 00:02:52,069 You know, once your love is in it 49 00:02:52,069 --> 00:02:53,020 the money's going to come. 50 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:58,240 That's why I joined the monument, because it's like art. 51 00:02:58,240 --> 00:02:59,300 Food is like art. 52 00:02:59,300 --> 00:03:00,580 You know, cooking. 53 00:03:00,580 --> 00:03:02,760 Making something out of nothing. 54 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:04,720 You know, making those dishes look good. 55 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:06,100 Like, oh, that shit's pretty. 56 00:03:06,100 --> 00:03:07,480 Let's see if it tastes pretty. 57 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,200 [INTERVIEWER, OFF SCREEN] When people ask you "What is this project?" what do you say? 58 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,040 [DANNION JORDAN] Well I walk them over to the brochures... 59 00:03:18,050 --> 00:03:21,120 [JANET BETHEA] It's a monument of something... 60 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,080 [FREDDY VELEZ] A positive place for art and study. 61 00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:26,840 [DANNION JORDAN] You know, they had a smoothie bar... 62 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:28,780 [JANET BETHEA] They can go in the library, read books. 63 00:03:28,780 --> 00:03:31,020 [DANNION JORDAN] ...a WiFi station up here... 64 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:33,140 [ERIK FARMER] You know, a monument usually is something that, 65 00:03:33,140 --> 00:03:35,300 you know, is stable. It doesn’t move. 66 00:03:35,300 --> 00:03:38,170 This is a temporary monument--something I never heard of-- 67 00:03:38,170 --> 00:03:40,720 but Thomas explained to me, you know, what he wanted to do 68 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,940 and how he wanted to integrate the residents into the monument, 69 00:03:44,940 --> 00:03:46,700 as in giving them jobs 70 00:03:46,700 --> 00:03:49,840 and wanting to teach the kids about art. 71 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,980 [DANNION JORDAN] He doesn't want anything to interfere with his monument, 72 00:03:56,980 --> 00:03:59,450 Whether it's rain, Dia:, 73 00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:01,380 NYCHA... 74 00:04:01,380 --> 00:04:03,740 he doesn't want anything to interfere with his project. 75 00:04:03,750 --> 00:04:06,590 If you're not interfering with his project, everything is good. 76 00:04:07,820 --> 00:04:08,960 [INTERVIEWER, OFF SCREEN] What happens when you interfere? 77 00:04:09,820 --> 00:04:11,920 [DANNION JORDAN] [LAUGHS] 78 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,209 Yeah, he just...you know, he gets crazy. 79 00:04:14,209 --> 00:04:16,449 He starts screaming--uses his fingers and everything... 80 00:04:16,449 --> 00:04:18,060 [HIRSCHHORN] Sunday... Sunday even... 81 00:04:18,060 --> 00:04:20,160 [YASMIL RAYMOND] Yes, but I'm here Saturday and Sunday, all... 82 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:21,940 [HIRSCHHORN] I am the artist! 83 00:04:21,940 --> 00:04:23,600 [MAN] I look and see there's no one sitting in there first... 84 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:24,320 [HIRSCHHORN] I am the artist. 85 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:25,500 [HARRY DRAKE] He'll be like, "No." 86 00:04:25,500 --> 00:04:27,900 [MARCELLA PARADISE] And if you can't stay to three o’clock or four-- 87 00:04:27,900 --> 00:04:30,270 which we stay till four all the time-- 88 00:04:30,270 --> 00:04:32,380 you get put out the class. 89 00:04:32,380 --> 00:04:34,490 [HIRSCHHORN] Okay? We are not observant. 90 00:04:34,490 --> 00:04:36,110 There is no observer. 91 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:39,919 [HARRY DRAKE] Thomas is not white. He's not European. 92 00:04:39,919 --> 00:04:41,219 He's black. 93 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:56,680 [MARCUS GREEN] I was very inspired by Thomas's poster. 94 00:04:56,690 --> 00:04:59,910 And on the poster it says, "All humans are intellectuals." 95 00:04:59,910 --> 00:05:05,250 And so, the quote that I want to begin with--which is quote number one-- 96 00:05:05,250 --> 00:05:07,340 is taken from that notion. 97 00:05:08,220 --> 00:05:11,080 [LEX BROWN] Gramsci's idea that every person is an intellectual 98 00:05:11,090 --> 00:05:14,270 is an incredibly important idea. 99 00:05:14,270 --> 00:05:15,669 It's a huge part of the project 100 00:05:15,669 --> 00:05:18,900 and it is touched upon in every part of it. 101 00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:22,420 [ADAM GUESSONGO] My name is Adam. 102 00:05:22,420 --> 00:05:25,080 I do graffiti, I draw, 103 00:05:25,860 --> 00:05:27,260 and I make sculpture. 104 00:05:27,260 --> 00:05:29,320 Or like, this--I'm not done with it yet... 105 00:05:32,100 --> 00:05:36,960 I'm not done with this, but I was trying to make a character from a game. 106 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,620 [DANNION JORDAN] You're learning--you're teaching-- 107 00:05:46,620 --> 00:05:50,490 but it's more like people just...you know, you got Thomas here. 108 00:05:50,490 --> 00:05:53,630 It's more about people gathering just still getting to learn one another. 109 00:05:53,630 --> 00:05:56,419 Because I don't really know all these guys that I work with, 110 00:05:56,419 --> 00:05:58,290 I just know them through other people. 111 00:05:58,290 --> 00:06:01,540 You all get to know each other, you learn from each other, 112 00:06:01,540 --> 00:06:03,840 and, you know, that's basically it. 113 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,800 [Destruction is difficult; it is as difficult as creation. (Antonio Gramsci Prison Notebook 6)] 114 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:08,000 [ERIK FARMER] This is history right here. 115 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,620 And it's history just because it's never been done. 116 00:06:10,620 --> 00:06:13,430 So when someone speaks about it--someone may try to do it-- 117 00:06:13,430 --> 00:06:18,020 but, at the end of the day, it was done at Forest Houses first. 118 00:06:19,140 --> 00:06:20,160 Big. Huge. 119 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,540 [Quality should be attributed to human beings, not to things. (Antonio Gramsci Prison Notebook 1)] 120 00:06:22,540 --> 00:06:27,200 [LEX BROWN] People have to come here, to the monument, to see the monument. 121 00:06:27,210 --> 00:06:33,479 This project is site-specific in the most true sense of that phrase. 122 00:06:33,479 --> 00:06:39,290 It's as important that this monument will be here for two and a half months 123 00:06:39,290 --> 00:06:43,270 as it is that it will not be here after two and a half months. 124 00:06:44,300 --> 00:06:46,340 There's an urgency to it. 125 00:06:46,350 --> 00:06:50,150 And without that urgency, it would not be the same thing.