Renowned 56-year-old Swiss artist, Thomas Hirschhorn, arrived to the Bronx with the idea of working with the locals to create a monument for the Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci who died in Rome in 1937. Hirschhorn unveiled the monument with the help of the DIA Art Foundation and Erik Farmer, the president of the residents' association at Forest Houses Project in the Morrisania section of the South Bronx. Handmade from plywood, the place offers a space in which residents and visitors can question the idea and purpose of art while also enjoying concerts, recitals, and art events during the summer.
The first project constructed by the artist in the US, is the fourth and last from a series of works inspired by philosophers like Spinoza (created in Amsterdam, Holland), Gilles Deleuze (created in Avignon, France) and Georges Bataille (created in Kassel, Germany). It is important to note that all the works were erected in working-class neighborhoods with the approval of the communities and their help to build them.