Monuments are sometimes depicted negatively because of petty things, such as the publicity the monument will receive or how the monument would be destroyed because of natural disaster, as if the circumstances were not beyond one's control. People are forgetting the bigger picture! Monuments should make people feel something, whether it is positive or negative. Monuments honor, teach, and inspire people in their own way. There is a lot of consideration put into monuments to appear as worthless. Monuments like The Crazy Horse Memorial are portrayed badly because no one knows what the man looks like, but the monument honors the North American Indians and people seem to forget that. So when building any kind of monument the site, aesthetics, money, and purpose are some factors that an administrator must take into account.
Location is one of the key factors to take careful thought into when memorializing a person or event. One of the biggest problems with finding the right emplacement is that some administrators feel the need to demolish an environment to place their monument there. With this in mind, a monument should blend into an environment while still being conspicuous. The monument should also tie into the site. There would be no sense in having a grand monument in a small town. Such as the United States Holocaust Memorial, according to Judith Miller, in her article “Holocaust Museum: A Troubled Start”, Elie Wiesel believed the museum would either be a sanctuary or an abomination. The monument received a lot of controversy because it “would be built in the United States, who did little to stop the Holocaust from occurring.” Christine Musser explains in her article, “Preserving Memory: National Holocaust Memorial Muse...
... middle of paper ...
...t as important as the Jews. It is more than a little bit insulting. In “Obscure Monument to Loberstone: Washington, DC,” the statue was made for a man who trapped lobsters. Trapping lobster is not something worth remembering.
Works Cited
Jackson, Bruce. “The Necessary Evil: Thoughts on Time and War.” Acsu.buffalo.edu U of
Buffalo. Web. 29 June 2000.
Lin, Maya. “Making the Memorial.” New York Review of Books. NYREV, 2 Nov. 2000. Web.
5 July 2011.
Miller, Judith. “Holocaust Museum: A Troubled Start.” New York Times. New
York Times, 22 April 1990. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
Musser, Christine. “Preserving Memory: National Holocaust Memorial Museum Controversy.”
Suite101.com. Suite101.com. Media, 30 Dec. 2010. Web. 20 Dec. 2010.
“Obscure Monument to Lobsterdom: Washington D.C.” RoadsideAmerica.com. Roadside
America, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2010.
The Iwo Jima Memorial, also known as the U. S. Marine Corps War Memorial, honors the Marines who have died defending the United States since 1775. The Iwo Jima Memorial is located near Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.
A contributing factor that agencies and groups should consider when building a monument is the purpose. When Maya Lin, an architect, was planning to design the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, she believed that "the use of names was a way to bring back everything someone could remember about a person" (Source G). Lin decided to choose names rather than photos or pictures because visual arts will not be able to describe what every veteran has done during the war. She wanted to commemorate every single soldier that fought during the war rather than leave mere glimpses of the war. However, other times the purpose is clouded like it was on Lincoln's memorial: "Why make a pilgrimage to a site with no historical significance to read a text that was already everywhere? The answer is simple: the monument manufactures its own aura" (Source A). Parts of the Gettysburg address was reproduced onto the monument, however, the purpose is to remind others about Lincoln's achievements. By bringing in the most important aspects of the Gettysburg address, the people who visit ...
The buildings that I chose to do were an advert for a powerful civilization. The emperors showed their power that they are the great leaders with a lot of money that could get many workers as they possibly could to erect their pattern of monument. The emperor Augustus used propaganda to ensure a vast base of support leading up to his renunciation in 27BC. The Roman emperors also built all these monuments in regard to public entertainment for their political advertising.
Washington, DC is a spectacular place. This being my first time in DC, I was in awe of everything and all the historical places I encountered. The presence of the monuments and history is what made the capitol so magnificent. Having only read about the Lincoln memorial, I never had the chance to experience the sensation of being inside such an honorable place of importance. The imposing white marble walls of the memorial and the many people surrounding it could be seen from afar. Arriving at the location, an unknown feeling came over me. I was experiencing history in a whole different level. When I think about a memorial, the term remembrance comes to mind. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln brought pieces of memories from history class and evoked thoughts of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes. I was astonished by the statue’s enormousness and how grand Abraham Lincoln looked in his chair. The size of the statue compared to pictures from books and elsewhere was surreal. Abraham Lincoln was a very “powerful and prominent individual” in the history of our nation, the statue’s design and size reflected upon that. Looking around me, I wanted to know what the others thoughts were on seeing his statue and how they felt in that building. I finally had the courage to ask one or two people what they thought; they all had the same appreciation as me. Hearing about an important person or learning about them in a history book gives you vast knowledge but it doesn’t evoke the feeling of utter appreciation as the memorial does. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, many people wanted to build a memorial in honor of him. They wanted to be able to show how important he was to shaping our nation and to “honor his existence”. Ce...
...lding can be, yet it has its own distinctive style and meaning. The Memorial is not a mirror image of its ancient ancestor, rather, it is a descendant of centuries of development and change. The Jefferson Memorial is no simple carbon copy of the original Pantheon, it is a building and a work of art in its own right and should be appreciated regardless of history.
In this passage, through Theseus’ oration much is revealed about him. Theseus’ views imagination as foolish almost juvenile. Theseus’ believes people with vivid imaginations are so foolish, even the smartest people, including himself can’t understand them. Theseus also is agonistic about the supernatural, refusing to accept the act of believing in the supernatural as a way to bring joy and be seen. Through Theseus’ harsh criticism of the poet, madman, and lover it revels his intense stoicism and masculinity complex. Theseus’ views that passion of the lover, creativity of the poet, and fear of the lunatic as unacceptable and feels to keep his masculinity intact this should be condoned.
America’s history-both good and bad-has much to teach us. Taking down, destroying these monuments is erasing, rewriting the physical symbols of the nation. This type of cultural whitewashing is inglorious. We can treat these monuments as a cautionary tool to remind ourselves what we are and what we are not. The cost forebears paid for the freedom of the nation should be remembered; therefore, people should retain these statues to remind of themselves what these monuments represent.
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
When creating a monument, the group or agency needs to consider if the subject is compelling enough to society. The monument has to have
The Holocaust Memorial Museum was built to honor those who were directly affected by the Holocaust. “Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God himself. Never” Elie Wiesel (“Holocaust Encyclopedia”). While some believe the building of the museum was a political act for President Carter, others were very optimistic of the outcome. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was a marvelous achievement for this country and those who dedicated their time and effort to this wonderful building. This museum not only has an interesting history and opening, but exhibits inside are nothing in comparison to the statistics of this grand foundation.
Americans have often used art to symbolize the relationship between themselves and their history. Therefore, art is used to honor and remember someone or an event where people died, through a memorial. As an example, The National World War II Memorial is a memorial to honor and remember the people who served in World War II. The success or failure of a memorial depends on how well it represents the image that people have of a certain person or event. Especially in America because they find the construction of a national monument so controversial that no memorial has been erected in the National Mall without a discussion. The National World War II Memorial on the National Mall was a poor addition; its location diminishes the formerly open space between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, its design is vague, and it is a poor choice even when compared with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A very good start.
Eye catching pieces like a giant reflective bean, or a woman holding a torch with a crown, or four men fighting to hoist our nation's flag. Each different place has it's own cultural viewpoints and personal taste. This shows the importance of history especially to Americans. We value our history and try to captivate it in a form that will be visible for ages. The different aspects going into the creation of buildings or monuments is simply put, monumental. To create a monument, the place, the theme and the response should be gauged beforehand to ensure it's building. Humans are inspired by their own doing just as much as they are by nature. Just who and why a statue is memorialized can be a very difficult topic to discuss, as will be discussed using varying sources.
In Natasha Trethewey’s poetry collection “Native Guard”, the reader is exposed to the story of Trethewey’s growing up in the southern United States and the tragedy which she encountered during her younger years, in addition to her experiences with prejudice. Throughout this work, Trethewey often refers to graves and provides compelling imagery regarding the burial of the dead. Within Trethewey’s work, the recurring imagery surrounding graves evolves from the graves simply serving as a personal reminder of the past to a statement on the collective memory of society and comments on what society chooses to remember and that which it chooses to let go of.
Monuments are a symbol of a significant time in history. Monuments represent life, death, success, and struggle just to name a few. They have become as important to society as the events they represent. They bring history alive to new generations and memories to those who experience them firsthand. Monuments create a bridge between generations. Many parents feel a certain indescribable joyfulness when they see the look in their child’s eyes they had went they viewed the same monument.
I‘m not saying that this monument should be taken away and destroyed, I‘m saying that these people who want it on display should spend less time protesting and more time raising money to have a place built for their precious monument.