Unseen/Unforgotten: A Remembrance of Menotomy’s Everyday Defenders, 1775 by Christopher Frost
Introduction
Known as Menotomy at the time of the American Revolution, Arlington was a community of self-sufficient farmers. These “country people” were sympathetic to the rebel cause and opposed the British King and Parliament’s increasingly autocratic policies. For years, tensions had been building throughout the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and on April 19, 1775, violence would break out; the War for Independence to preserve local representative government was launched with the battles at Lexington, Concord and Menotomy.
Chris Frost has created five pedestals in the neoclassical style traditionally used to support sculpture honoring American heros and leaders. Who would you remember with a portrait? Although history has not recorded how the Everyday Defenders looked, or the details of their lives, Frost invites you to imagine the men and women of all ages, people of English, African and Indigenous heritage, who were swept up in that bloody conflict. They would need courage and resilience to survive eight years of struggle for independence. Although some had no choice, many had to decide – without knowing the outcome – would they join the fight against tyranny or would they stand by?
To hear Chris Frost talk about Unseen/Unforgotten, click on the orange start button.
Unseen/Unforgotten was commissioned by ArtsArlington as part of Arlington's commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution. Two groupings of pedestals made of cast concrete (5 total) are located in front of Robbins Memorial Library and in a grove of trees behind library parking lot.
This temporary public art exhibition was made possible by a generous grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism/MA250. Installation was supported by a generous contribution from Intelligent Labor & Moving Company of Arlington.
More information: ArtsArlington.