memorials, part 1

Trigger Warning…talking about death today. Please sit with people you’re comfortable talking

about this with.

How do we care for our deceased? How we care for our deceased is an extension of our view of the a=erlife. All around the world there’s a mulAtude of ways that death is handled. Ceremonial: Burial, CremaAon, (ImmolaAon), creaAng a tomb, Burial at Sea Weird ol’ family tradi=ons??? Ashes turned into jewelry, turned into Christmas ornaments Scien=fic: Mortuary Research, DonaAon, Cryogenics What else?? ARTSY-‐DEATH THINGS: Taxidermy: When you stuff a dead object and re-‐posiAon it as if it’s sAll alive. Skin-‐stretching: for framing or for books. SPACE BURIAL! LAUCH YOUR ASHES INTO SPACE. (THANKS KAI…apparently gene roddenbury is in space)

Tomb a large vault, typically an underground

one, for burying the dead. What are the other aspects of a Tomb?

Brianna: Doesn’t have to be underground…it could be a liQle house. Mausoleum (KENNY) o=en owned by a family.

Kenny: Tombstones are like a representaAon of the person who is buried. O=en with an “epitaph” an inscripAon about that person. There was some general who had a mausoleum, and there were sword ornaments…marble stone designs for architecture. These

designs represent the profession of the person. Jean: Thinking of EgypAan Tombs buried with all their belongings

(including living servants, pets, etc.) Catacomb: underground cemetery, with spaces dug out for tombs

and graves.

Tomb a large vault, typically an underground

one, for burying the dead. What are the other aspects of a Tomb?

Alannis: A tomb should honor a person. Mausoleum can also honor a whole family.

Jak: Tombs are o=en isolated…not near Macy’s or a lot of people.

Ayy: Some families have small plaques, large tombstones, large mausoleums.

Guzzy: people making plans for their inevitable death. Zenzi: At a funeral: it can unify a family…bring people together who live in different states/countries…but it can also divide people when it comes to assets and

planning.

Memorial an object, typically a structure,

established to remind people of a certain person or event.

How is this different from a Tomb? Kevin: Memorials are for remembering people, events.

Rasha: Composed of personal objects in an act of remembrance Joie: A memorial may have imagery of the event…names of those

who died…Like at the 9/11 Memorial. Again, this is about REMEMBERING …Tombs say “goodbye” Memorials say: “don’t

forget.” Jean: Some memorials are celebraAons for people we will never

know. Like MLK. JOJO: Memorials usually have a site-‐specific…tombs can be kind of

anywhere? Ruhith: Went to DC….saw a TON of war memorials….these were to commemorate people who passed away and changed the world.

Memorial an object, typically a structure,

established to remind people of a certain person or event.

What are the other aspects of a Memorial? Guzzy: someAmes meant to remember a group of people, like

the 9/11 Memorial Raph: I DISAGREE. Memorials can be for ANYONE. It doesn’t have to be a large number of people. It could be for one

person, like the Lincoln Memorial. Nawal: Tombs are just a space for decomposing bodies. A Memorial is all about embellishing a person and how they

stood out. Jakara: Memorials are for people who did important things and had a really big impact on history (and on us). Thinking

about the MLK memorial in Washington DC.

Write down the name of a famous historical person who you think has made a posiAve influence on the world.

•  8 votes: MLK: Civil Rights leader •  8 votes: Gandhi – acAvist •  4 votes: Abraham Lincoln -‐ PoliAcian •  4 votes: Leonardo diVinci – ArAst, scienAst •  3 votes: Malcom X – Civil Rights AcAvist •  2 votes for: Barack Obama – poliAcian •  Carl Sagan -‐ ScienAst •  Galileo -‐ ScienAst •  Jimmy Hendrix – Musician •  Beyoncé – Musician •  Michael Jackson – Musician •  Andy Grammar – Musician •  Tupac – Musician •  Vladimir Lenin – PoliAcian •  “Founding Fathers” – PoliAcians •  Jackie Robinson -‐ Athlete •  Jesus – Spiritual Leader •  Ruby Bridges – Civil Rights acAvist •  Malala Yousafzai – Civil Rights AcAvist •  Rosa Parks -‐ Civil Rights AcAvist •  Arvin Lin – CITIZEN OF EARTH

Mohammed – Prophet (peace be upon him) John Bain -‐ Game Journalist Kara Walker – ArAst Jerry Siegel – ArAst, writer Anna Akana – actress Rowan Blanchard – actress Edgar Allen Poe – Writer William Shakespeare -‐ Writer Kozak (though probably not famous or historical enough)

•  8 votes: MLK: Civil Rights leader •  8 votes: Gandhi – acAvist •  4 votes: Abraham Lincoln -‐ PoliAcian •  4 votes: Leonardo diVinci – ArAst, scienAst •  3 votes: Malcom X – Civil Rights AcAvist •  2 votes for: Barack Obama – poliAcian •  Carl Sagan -‐ ScienAst •  Galileo -‐ ScienAst •  Jimmy Hendrix – Musician •  Beyoncé – Musician •  Michael Jackson – Musician •  Andy Grammar – Musician •  Tupac – Musician •  Vladimir Lenin – PoliAcian •  “Founding Fathers” – PoliAcians •  Jackie Robinson -‐ Athlete •  Jesus – Spiritual Leader •  Ruby Bridges – Civil Rights acAvist •  Malala Yousafzai – Civil Rights AcAvist •  Rosa Parks -‐ Civil Rights AcAvist •  Arvin Lin – CITIZEN OF EARTH

Mohammed – Prophet (peace be upon him)

John Bain -‐ Game Journalist Kara Walker – ArAst Jerry Siegel – ArAst, writer Anna Akana – actress Rowan Blanchard – actress Edgar Allen Poe – Writer William Shakespeare -‐ Writer Kozak (though probably not famous or historical enough)

Design a memorial for someone on this list

•  Where would it be located? •  What kind of materials would it

be built of? •  Create on a large sheet of paper

•  Present on Monday

20 min to finish •  RepresentaAonal vs non-‐representaAonal

•  FiguraAve vs non-‐figuraAve

Key Ques=ons… •  How does the memorial relate to the locaAon?

•  What is the significance of creaAng this memorial? •  Who is the memorial for? Can you tell just by

looking? •  How does the SCALE of the memorial relate to the

viewer experience?

Links to know things!

•  hQps://alypiusminor.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/tombs-‐monuments/

•  hQp://mentalfloss.com/arAcle/26101/5-‐things-‐you-‐didnt-‐know-‐about-‐maya-‐lin

Do you have your Library Card? You’ll need it in a couple weeks.

NAMES ARDI NAWAL SOFIA Amina Ranfery Nyasiah Taeron Jean??? RASHA MicheLLe Lensei

Examples of memorials

The World Trade Center as originally designed by Minoru Yamasaki

For a decade a=er the towers fell…

Tribute in Light Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda 2002

“the towers are like ghost limbs, we can feel them even though they’re not there anymore.”

Tribute in Light Julian LaVerdiere and Paul Myoda 2002

“the towers are like ghost limbs, we can feel them even though they’re not there anymore.”

Designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker & Partners


•  Kevin: black and white and shadowy, almost skeletal.

•  Kai: Names of the vicAms are inscribed along the edges.

•  Kenny: It’s a waterfall in the shape of the building.

•  Ruhith: It looks like the water is going straight into the ground, conceptually, like it’s going straight into the earth.

RESPONSES…

Brian: It feels lonely. Like there’s something missing Gissell: The water adds a sense of tranquility. Myar: The trees growing is encouraging, inspiring.


•  ArAe: The memorial is the “footprint” of the towers.

•  Guzzy: The water could represent the tears that were shed.

•  Richard: It looks like an unfinished grave.

•  Vicky: Washing away a memory…trying to get rid of it.

RESPONSES…

Zenzi: Like a toilet.

The 9/11 Memorial is located at the site of the former World Trade Center complex and occupies approximately half of the 16-‐acre site. The Memorial features two enormous waterfalls and reflec=ng pools, each about an acre in size, set within the footprints of the original Twin Towers. The Memorial plaza is eco-‐friendly in terms of waste-‐water and pest management. More than 400 trees surround the reflecAng pools. Its design is meant to convey a spirit of hope and renewal, and create a contempla=ve space separate from the usual sights and sounds of Lower ManhaQan


Swamp white oak trees form a canopy of leaves over the plaza. This type of tree is very fast growing, and generates leaves in early spring. They generate shade in the summer and seasonal color in fall. A small clearing in the grove, known as the Memorial Glade, designates a space for gatherings and special ceremonies.



Responses: Brian: I can feel that he’s been criAcized about the way he’s designed it. But he kept going. Brianna: You can see how important this was to him. He wanted to make it as perfect as he could, and took it seriously. It’s easy to worry “is this the right, style, approach, material, etc.” Jean: The fact that he had to saAsfy so many people…being cauAous not to offend anyone.

Desist: (v) to cease; abstain, or avoid


Responses: Guzzy: The quote seems kind of aggressive for the context. This was one of the only Ames that the city actually STOPPED. This seems to add to the aggression. Zenzi: Since a lot of people interpreted this memorial in different ways, it’s like he’s saying “just deal with it. It’s done.” He seems defensive. RD: Hmm, maybe he’s not talking about how the PUBLIC should take this…but how HE deals with it.

Other ways of dealing with tragedy.

Garden of Stones Andy Goldsworthy

2003

The Memorial Garden is a contemplaAve space dedicated to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and a tribute to those who survived. For Garden of Stones, Goldsworthy worked with nature's most elemental materials — stone, trees, and soil — to create a garden that is the arAst's metaphor for the tenacity and fragility of life.


2003

Eighteen boulders form a series of narrow pathways in the Memorial Garden's 4,150-‐square-‐foot space. A single dwarf oak sapling emerges from the top of each boulder, growing straight from the stone. As the trees mature in the coming years, each will grow to become a part of the stone, its trunk widening and fusing to the base.


2003

More importantly, it demonstrates how elements of nature can survive in seemingly impossible places. In Jewish tradiAon, stones are o=en placed on graves as a sign of remembrance. Here, Goldsworthy brings stone and trees together as a representaAon of life cycles intertwined. As a living memorial, the garden is a tribute to the hardship, struggle, tenacity, and survival experienced by those who endured the Holocaust.


2003

Holocaust survivors Helping plant the oak trees

Berlin Holocaust Memorial

Peter Eisenman 1999-‐2004

Berlin Holocaust Memorial Peter Eisenman

1999-‐2004

Berlin Holocaust Memorial

Peter Eisenman 1999-‐2004

the design begins from a rigid grid structure composed of some 2,700 concrete pillars, or stelae, each 95 cenAmeters wide and 2.375 meters long, with heights varying from zero to 4 meters. The pillars are spaced 95 cenAmeters apart to allow for only individual passage through the grid.

Berlin Holocaust Memorial Peter Eisenman

1999-‐2004

In addiAon, while the difference between the ground plane and the top plane of the pillars may appear to be random and arbitrary, a maQer of pure expression, this is not the case. Each plane is determined by the intersecAons of the voids in the pillar grid and the gridlines of the larger site context of Berlin. In effect, a slippage occurs in the grid structure, causing indeterminate spaces to develop within the seemingly rigid order of the monument. These spaces condense, narrow, and deepen to provide a mulAlayered experience from any point in the gridded field.

COMPARISONS… •  Kenny: Both involve walking through it, like an

installaAon. It’s not just a memorial to look at. •  Joie: The material (cement vs. boulders) is different.

The Berlin memorial is very rigid…the NY memorial has less of those straight lines.

•  Taeron: They’re TOTES different. The Berlin one is dark, and somber…while the NY memorial is very bright, lush,

•  Myar: Both have hope…Berlin puts you in the place of a person in the holocaust where the NY one is more opAmisAc.

•  Jean: DAMMIT MYAR. Taking my ideas. •  Kenny version 2: The NY memorial is going to

CHANGE over Ame…the Berlin one is going to look the same the whole Ame.

•  Brian: The Berlin memorial has this small hope, but requires determinaAon to get through...the NY one is more tranquil and peaceful.

•  .

COMPARISONS… •  Nyle: The Berlin Memorial is more somber and

serious but the one in New York is more upli=ing. •  Tina: The New York memorial feels less isolated…

and has more hope. There’s less sunlight in the Berlin one.

•  Arvin: I would rather visit the memorial in New York, since it’s less scary.

•  .Zenzi: The NY memorial is more about the survivors…not just those who perished in the holocaust. The Berlin one is about those that we lost.

•  Vicky: ZENZI TOOK MY IDEA. They have two different meanings…tribute to different things.

•  Ardi: The Berlin piece teaches you with an experience when you walk through it. The NY memorial is more hopeful, about growth.

•  Ayy: The Berlin piece is almost suffocaAng. NY is more upli=ing.

DEBATE! Which memorial is more appropriate for addressing a genocidal

tragedy such the Holocaust?

Berlin Holocaust Memorial Peter Eisenman, 1999-‐2004

Garden of Stones, Andy Goldsworthy 2003

Where it’s all going…

•  Learning about some memorials – DEBATES

•  Learning about General/President U.S. Grant •  Visit from Ranger Don •  Prompts for Academic research – Panel Discussions – Visit from Ranger Don

•  Video projects (working on gewng you a small budget!)

•  Film Fes=val!

Key take-‐aways from the debate…

•  People need to FEEL something when they visit memorials.

•  While most of us like to feel hopeful, there is sAll value in feeling sad.

Analysis of two war memorials The Vietnam & Korean Wars

War Memorials

Vietnam Memorial Korean War Memorial Designed by Maya Lin Designed by Louis Nelson and Frank Gaylord 1982 1995


The Vietnam Memorial consists of two large walls of granite, each about 250 feet long. At the edges they’re a few inches high, and rise to over 10 feet at the vertex. CollecAvely, there are a total of 58,307 names of soldiers who were KIA (killed in acAon) are inscribed on the walls.

The 19 stainless steel statues are approximately seven feet tall and represent an ethnic cross secAon of America and a mixture of divisions of the armed forces. The statues stand in patches of Juniper bushes and are separated by polished granite strips. The troops wear ponchos covering their weapons, which seem to blow in the cold winds of Korea.

Vietnam Memorial Designed by Maya Lin 1982

•  Gissell: This is a “typical” memorial. Just the names, that’s all. Meh. Similar to the 9/11 memorial.

•  Kenny: This is NOT typical, since it’s so interac=ve. It’s open for people to touch, leave things, and honor the fallen soldiers. “easier to PARTICIPATE with.”

•  Taeron: Perhaps this has a more “inviAng” feel…there’s a sense of sadness, but

•  Michelle: This one is more “personal” since people can leave stuff near the names.

•  Brian: It’s kind of emoAonal and honoring, so people can have an emoAonal Ae to it.

•  Kai: Has anyone ever stole the objects people leave behind? Or what happens to them?

Korean War Memorial Designed by Louis Nelson and Frank Gaylord 1995

RESPONSES. •  Taeron: The presence of actual soldiers could be in=mida=ng.

•  .Ruhith: When I went there, I felt inAmidated by the soldiers…they’re all looking at you and such!

•  Kenny: This seems interesAng. I’d like to go. It’s quite intense.

•  Joie: I wish we could get a liQle closer to these figures…and not be gated away.

•  Michelle: It’s like you can see them from a distance, as if when they were fighAng the war.

•  Myar: This memorial puts us through the experience of a solider. Puts us in their shoes.

•  Nyasiah: I WANNA GO IN THE WINTER.

Vietnam Memorial Designed by Maya Lin 1982

•  Richard: The Vietnam memorial seems more emoAonal than other memorials.

•  Ayy: The Maya Lin design “Shows the love” It’s easy for people to leave things behind.

•  Alannis: This seems like a “calm” memorial.

•  Arvin: This memorial has some “hope” to it. The soldiers are honored in this memorial in a sympatheAc way.

•  Zenzi: There’s a lot of research that has gone into this, specific soldiers that died.

•  ArAe: This shows the magnitude of the war, and how many lives were lost.

•  Tina: This seems more peaceful. It’s a simple use of imagery.

Korean War Memorial Designed by Louis Nelson and Frank Gaylord 1995

RESPONSES. •  Alannis: This seems more thought-‐out. There’s more “effort” into it. The statues are quite creepy to visitors.

•  Zenzi: This honors the soldiers on the whole…but not so individualized.

•  Nawal: It’s like a baQlefield, even though this war wasn’t fought in our naAon, it brings the baQle TO the viewer.

•  Nyle: This one is quite creepy…their eyes are sAll, they’re like ghosts.

•  Guzzy: Cultural baggage…kinda like terra coQa warriors (Xi’an, China) I OPPOSE NAWAL. The baQle field is being brought to Americans already, visually through the media. Memorials like this have less of an impact as a result.

•  Arvin: Similar to soldier statues on the Great Wall of China

War Memorials


Wave Field Storm King Art Center 2009

Maya Lin, born in Athens, Ohio in 1959, designed “The Wall” as an undergraduate at Yale University for a funerary architecture class. She has since gone on to design many marvelous works of art which are abstract and contempla=ve in nature.

“The defini=on of a modern approach to war is the acknowledgement of individual lives lost.”

Frank Gaylord was born in 1925 in Clarksburg, West Virginia, and aQended the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. He was also a paratrooper in World War II. He is best known for his work on the Korean War Memorial, though he also worked on intricate tombstones and other figura=ve work. In 2002 the US Postal Service used imagery of his work on a stamp without his permission, and he sued the USPS. In 2010 he won the case and was compensated with over $650,000

"War is 98% wai=ng and 2% hell."

“The Column”


The quesAon of REALISM vs. ABSTRACTION Representa?onal: Something that you can idenAfy it, that has symbolism, (realisAc) Non-‐representa?onal: It’s not easily idenAfied. Usually something symbolic, that has meaning, but it’s no so obvious at first.

“The Wall”

“The Column”


The quesAon of REALISM vs. ABSTRACTION Representa?onal: there’s a specific image that’s idenAfiable (literal, realisAc) vs. non-‐representa?onal: it’s symbolic …like an icon for something. It REFERERENCES but it’s literal. QuesAon inducing?

“The Wall”

Each of these arAsts are people with values and individual perspecAves. How are these values visible in their memorial artwork?

•  . •  . •  .

“The Column”


REALISM vs. ABSTRACTION DEBATE! Do audiences have stronger reacAons to representaAonal or non-‐representaAonal

memorials? Which promotes a more empatheAc

response?

“The Wall”

Prepare opening statements & Main points of focus

5 min

“The Column”


REALISM vs. ABSTRACTION DEBATE! Do audiences have stronger reacAons to

representaAonal or non-‐representaAonal memorials? Which promotes a more empatheAc response?

“The Wall”

Three Servicemen Frederick Hart 1984

In the early 1980’s, negaAve feedback on Maya Lin’s design was becoming a large issue. Some government workers were refusing the issue building permits to allow “The Wall” to be built. At this Ame, a second Vietnam memorial was designed and installed across from Lin’s memorial.

Three Servicemen Frederick Hart 1984

The Three Servicemen Statue at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial captures a full range of emoAons. Taken as a whole, the statue symbolizes the spirit of compromise and reconcilia=on. Like the the Vietnam War itself, the controversy over the creaAon of Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial divided America. The proposed design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial angered some Vietnam veterans and others who felt that it did not convey the heroism, patrio=sm, and honor inherent in most war memorials. They thought the memorial focused too much on death and loss. The Three Servicemen Statue was a compromise to that controversy, a compromise that sought to conAnue the healing of a naAon."

Vietnam Women’s Memorial Glenna Goodacre 1993

The mulA-‐figure bronze monument is designed by New Mexico sculptor, Glenna Goodacre. It is a sculpture in the round portraying three Vietnam-‐era women, one of whom is caring for a wounded male soldier, another who is looking up, possibly for a medical evacuaAon, and a final woman who is praying or in deep thought. The enAre sculpture stands about 7’ tall and weighs one ton.

memorials, part 1

Education