monumental/ unmonumental
by laceys Posted on February 14, 2010 in Contemporary Art Issues & Images
Don’t forget to check out Maya Lin’s web site for more detailed information about her recent projects. “What is Missing?” is her most recent piece, in which she deals with issues related to endangered species and the changing soundscape of our environment.
Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial is often lauded as a rare example of an appropriate contemporary monument. It demonstrates sensitivity and formal intelligence without relying on outmoded expressions of either victory or loss or mourning. The more recent World War II memorial, also in Washington, D.C. is often considered less successful for its failure to avoid these common pitfalls. On the official WWII memorial website is this bit of criticism from Time magazine: “Time Magazine, in their May 3, 2004, review of the new World War II Memorial, critically commented, “Il Duce would have loved it.” Some of the early criticism of the memorial elements centered on their similarity to some of the Nazi and Fascist architecture of the 1930s and 1940s”. The contrary opinion is also stated on the site: “Friedrich St.Florian’s winning design balances classical and modernist styles of architecture, harmonizes with its natural and cultural surroundings, and connects the legacy of the American Revolution and the American Civil War with a great crusade to rid the world of fascism.” The issue of creating monument sculpture that reflects the sentiment of the people it is to serve is complex and is a very specific artistic concern.
Perhaps what is more common among contempoary artiss is treatment of that which is decidedly unmonumental. We’ve looked at examples from Alison Knowles ad Rirkrit Tiravanija in class. [kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/lmqvnIXnmyM" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
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The New Museum in New York mounted an exhibition entitled “Unmonumental: The Object in the 21st Century,” which explored the ideas of found object sculpture, informality, and improvisation. Thirty artists from a wide variety of backgrounds and various artistic stategies were represented in the show. Here are more links to this 2008 show: “Unmonumental” and “Collage: The Unmonumental Picture” . The legacy of Marcel Duchamp lives on and on….
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