Monuments by Chris Kleihege
Issue 174
I live in Chicago, Illinois and work as a photographer specializing in archaeology, anthropology and history. For this project I used black and white 4x5 film that was unexposed when salvaged after the fire at Central Camera, Chicago in May, 2020 (The fire itself was set by looters who used the protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd and others to distract the authorities in order to rob stores along Jeweler’s Row in Chicago’s Loop.).
The subject matter I chose to photograph with this fire-damaged film had to complement the film itself. I chose to focus on many of the monuments previous generations had erected that glorify or honor people or ideas that we now call into question. This was easy enough to decide; not only had many of the post-George Floyd protests centered around monuments but our whole reconsideration of those monuments accelerated after his (and others) murder. In addition, I find it not a great leap of imagination to consider that some of those monuments reflect ideas that perpetuated thought that have allowed so many of our fellow citizens to be repressed and murdered.
The resulting photographs from the damaged film appear distorted and are reduced to black-and-white extremes with very little gray in the middle. Black-and-white is an easy enough metaphor to understand, especially if we think back to Charlottesville, Virginia and the unrest caused by the removal of statues that glorified the Confederacy. Black-and-white continues as a metaphor for the Civil War era. Abraham Lincoln recognized there was little ground in the middle when he observed: “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. And black-and-white is a great metaphor for today when approximately no one wants to listen beyond her/his/their own echo chamber. I hope the distorted nature of these photographs encourages us to take a fresh look at our monuments and our history. And where do I think this leaves us? Probably right about here:
“Things fall apart, the center cannot hold….
The best lack all conviction,
While the worst are full of passionate intensity.”
William Butler Yeats, 1920
All photographs were printed on 20”x24” silver gelatin paper and then photographed with a digital camera to make a digital file. I owe special thanks to Don Flesch, the owner of Central Camera, for stepping away from his burned out store to hand over the unexposed film with the encouragement of “I hope you get something!” I owe further thanks to photographer Allan Cohen for invaluable advice as to how to develop the damaged film and print the photos. Because nothing ever happens in a vacuum.
Chris Kleihege (he/him) lives and works in Chicago.
ckphoto.org
The Balbo Monument
This Roman column, now called the Balbo Monument, is approximately 2000 years old and was given to Chicago by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to honor a transatlantic flight of Italian seaplanes led by the fascist general Italo Balbo.
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin’s statue was erected in large part to honor his contributions to printing and publishing. As a writer, educator, scientist, inventor, diplomat, philosopher, and signer of the Declaration of Independence, he was instrumental to the formation of the nation. Although he owned as many as seven slaves, he did free them and later became an ardent abolitionist.
Bull and Indian Maiden
“Bull and Indian Maiden”. The Indian maiden was made from the same plaster cast as a sculpture that was displayed at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893. The maiden herself represents corn or maize and is considered a symbol of plenty. As with all American Indian sculptures on the City’s or Park District land, it is being investigated for any inaccurate or demeaning characteristics.
Central Camera Company, June 1, 2020
Central Camera, one of the oldest camera stores in the country (since 1899), was set on fire by looters who used the protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd as a distraction to rob the stores along Jeweler’s Row in Chicago’s Loop. The owner, Don Flesch, has consistently kept the focus of the fire on the human tragedy.“Although this is a tough time for the store, it doesn’t compare to the loss of George Floyd’s life and the countless other Black lives lost”.
The Columbus Monument
“The Columbus Monument”, now removed from Grant Park, was first unveiled as part of the celebration of the arrival of the fascist Italian General Italo Balbo. Columbus is often credited to have discovered the Americas, ignoring the American Indians already here. Much controversy stems from his use of slavery, violence and forced conversion to Christianity toward Indigenous populations.
General John Logan Monument
General John Logan was a respected Union commander in the Civil War and later played prominently in the Grand Army of the Republic, the fraternity and charity whose purpose was to care for Union veterans. However, previous to the Civil War he promoted racist views stating “It was never intended that whites and blacks should stand in equal relation.” Politically aligned with Senator Stephan Douglas, he promoted passage of “Logan’s Black Law” to halt black migration and settlement in Illinois.
General Philip Henry Sheridan
General Philip Henry Sheridan was a Union Army hero in the American Civil War but after the war used the same scorched earth tactics on American Indians that he earlier used against the Confederacy. In driving Indians back to their reservations, he killed those who resisted, took their supplies and livestock, and allowed professional hunters to trespass onto reservations to kill buffalo, nearly exterminating this vital species.
Illinois Centennial Monument
Although the Illinois Centennial Monument was designed in part by Henry Bacon, who oversaw the engineering and design of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., it has proven controversial due to its lack of recognition of the “violent removal” of Indigenous Americans from Chicago. Its Indigenous imagery also is called into question. The Native American male pictured on the base is not attired in clothing appropriate to local tribes.
Lincoln the Railsplitter
Lincoln the Railsplitter was intended to show that a young man who came from modest circumstances could thru hard work achieve the presidency. Although he spilt many fence rails as a youth, he used the robust “railsplitter” identity as a campaign slogan in the 1860 presidential election, feeling it would have better appeal than “Honest Abe” to the (all male) voters.
Melville Fuller
This bust of Melville Fuller is a replica of a sculpture in the United States Supreme Court Building. Fuller was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and voted with the majority in the landmark case Plessy v. Ferguson. This case placed “Separate but equal” in American jurisprudence leading to Jim Crow legislation and legalizing segregation in American society.
Robert Morris-George Washington-Haym Salomon Monument
Robert Morris-George Washington-Haym Salomon Monument shows two of the financiers of the American Revolution flanking George Washington. Scholarship indicates that Solomon, a Polish born Jew, was included not for his specific contributions but to focus on Jewish contributions to the Revolutionary War and civic life. Although the plaque placed by the statue’s donor reads "Symbol of American tolerance and unity and of the cooperation of people of all races and creeds in the building of the United States.”, both Washington and Salomon were slave owners.
Standing Lincoln#1
Combining classical form with an unadorned natural dignity, “Standing Lincoln” is regarded by many art historians as one of the 19th century’s greatest pieces of public art. Classical references, a monumental chair standing in for a throne, contrast with a gaze cast downward and rumpled clothing, most modest and unlike that of a traditional hero.
Abraham Lincoln#2
Abraham Lincoln is well known for his anti-slavery stand. Also to consider is his stance toward the American Indians. Preoccupied with the Civil War, treaties with the American Indians were broken, tribal lands were given away to facilitate expansion to the west, systemic atrocities were committed by the army and Lincoln signed off on the largest mass execution in the nation’s history, 38 Dakota Sioux.
The Alarm
“The Alarm” is one of Chicago’s earliest public sculptures and is under investigation as to whether it represents inaccurate or demeaning characterizations of American Indians.
“Indians (The Bowman)”
Although “Indians (The Bowman)” is admired by many for its presence and energy, it is criticized by others for its romantic and two dimensional view of American Indians.
The Defense
“The Defense” adorns the southwest bridge tower at Michigan Avenue and the Chicago River. While the bridge towers were meant to reflect Chicago as “Paris on the prairie”, this relief represents the bloody clash in 1812 between soldiers and settlers fleeing Fort Dearborn and American Indians.
The Republic
“The Republic” in Jackson Park, often referred to as “The Golden Lady”, is a copy of a statue in the 1893 Columbian Exposition. Some criticism places the statue as a testimony to that progress is centered around the Western tradition and America and Western Europe are the peak of civilization. Other criticism centers around it as a symbol of an inaccurate view of Chicago’s past and present.
Trump welcome to Chicago…
“Trump welcome to Chicago…” is a double exposure or two photos shot on a single sheet of film. The former president’s propensity to name buildings after himself and then add large signs attesting to that ownership conflicted with a tradition of buildings along the Chicago River not identifying themselves with large signs. The former president appears to have intended his building to be a billboard. However, he was characteristically careless as to messages his billboard might contain. This photo is not of one of the monuments under investigation as to being appropriate for representing Chicago’s history.
Ulysses S. Grant #1
Although Ulysses S. Grant was a a very successful Civil War general and as president established the Department of Justice in large part to counter the Ku Klux Klan, he also broke peace treaties and continued removal of American Indians from ancestral lands.
Unknown #2
Most of the film available for this project was damaged beyond usefulness before being shot. Some film boxes were burned in the fire and the film inside was exposed to light. Much of the remaining film did not remain intact after it was processed in the necessary series of development baths. The emulsion (the negative part) often separated into small pieces and floated right off the base (the plastic part). And some film (for example, Unknown #2) was so distorted by the development process that it is difficult to definitively identify the exact monument photographed.
All images © Chris Kleihege