Lincoln Memorial, MLK Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Three Servicemen, and MORE!

1. Monuments and Memorials

2. How do nations preserve memories?
• Aidan: Museums
• Aidan: They keep (and protect) artifacts and national treasures. There’s important
documents like the Declaration of Independence and other things from the pas that
have association with our history .
• Prince: It has to be important though, Arwynn: It needs to have changed the course
of history Artan: It needs to have affected a great number of people.
• Sarah: Monuments – representing events that have shaped history (and the future)
• Danisa: They can represent historic figures
• Marco: painting: Similar to monuments, they can depict historic events/figures like wars
• Artan’s thoughts on war: War is seen as a heroic thing, you’re risking your life for
your nation’s people. Soldiers and commanders, are praised with statues.
• Micahel: Textbooks! They’re a collection of history for a nation or the world.
• Sakin: Different textbooks around the world have different histories and
perspectives.
• Nita: “History is written by the victors”

3. How do nations preserve memories?
• Kaylee: STATUES/Memorials
• Levy: They’re used to commemorate an era in history, represented by a certain person…..such as
statues of Confederate statues.
• Azalea: Museums
• Mattia: The 911 Memorial Museum has a collection of objects from the attack
• Tenz: They keep (and protect) items of national interest.
• Kendell: School curriculum, the English and History classes align in content.
• Adiba: Students are taught the history and it goes on to the next generation
• ZALEA: Books, and we need to study and memorize this stuff.
• Gyaban: This promotes nationalism…we came from the ashes and we rose...we’re the best
nation in the world....’MERICA.
• Yeva: Body parts of important people: In St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, there’s the heart of a
former Pope on display.
• Kozak: Lenin’s body in Moscow.
• Tatiana: Grant’s Tomb (122nd and Riverside Dr.) General/President Grant and his wife, Julia
• Herb: National Holidays AND Anthems
• Tatiana: Currency.
• .

4. Monuments and Memorials
Iwo Jima Memorial (1954), Arlington, VA
Minar-e Pakistan, (1960-68) Lahore
Portuguese Monument, (1971) Conakry, Guinea
National Martyr’s Memorial, (1978-82) Savar

5. Monuments vs. Memorials
Differences:
• Not necessarily about death, but a
celebration of life.
• These are about GLORIFYING a person.
• Typically about a single person??
• .
• .
• .
Differences:
• Usually to remember those who have
died.
• Respect and honor people or a person.
• There’s typically more emotion attached
and historical memory.
Similarities:
• Ingrid; All of these are meant to make a country look good. To show national pride
• Sarah: Both are dedicated to a person or event
• Marco: They’re in public, meant to be shown to everyone, to show off an idea (wealth,
victory, defeat)
• .

6. Monuments vs. Memorials
Differences:
• .
• Benz: Often to celebrate
someone/something.
• Tenz: Meant to INSPIRE people when they
see it.
• Kendell: It’s meant to overwhelm you
(and your senses)
• .
Differences:
• Levy: STUFF. Regrets. They’re generally
sadder than monuments. Nobody has a
memorial for a success.
• Benz: Tragedies like 911 are
memorialized.
• .
Similarities:
• .
• ZALEA: They both represent things that have happened in the past. They help us
understand how things are today….
• .
• .

7. What does this memorial
communicate?
• Moh: Together as one we can
do a lot.
• Jaylieen: Sophisticated, his
posture is straight up.
• Kaylee: He’s holding his head
high, he was a powerful
person when he was
alive…and he seems to have
purpose in his “stance”
• Gyaban: He’s looking down at
us, it’s a bit intimidating.
• Zalea: The artist shows him so
powerfully, through scale. It’s
a serious vibe.

8. What does this memorial
communicate?
• Artan: POWER. He’s big and
above you
• Katelyn: I agree. There’s a
seriousness with it, and
POWER.
• Prince: It’s like a king sitting
on a throne. Usually if
someone is elevated, it’s
associated with having power
or more significance.
• “Plinth” “Dais”
• Marco: He shows firmness
and assurance
• Noume: He was assassinated
in a theater. This may bring
back history?

9. Abraham Lincoln
Daniel Chester French
Georgia Marble
1922
This sculpture of Lincoln is
composed of 28 blocks of
marble and rises 30 feet high
from the ground.
Lincoln gazes directly ahead
and slightly down with an
expression of that has both
gravity and solemnity. His coat
is unbuttoned and there is an
American Flag draped over the
chair back and sides.

10. Abraham Lincoln
Daniel Chester
French
Georgia Marble
1922
Artist Daniel Chester French
paid special attention to
Lincoln's expressive hands,
which rest on the enormous
arms of a circular, ceremonial
chair, the fronts are carved to
resemble fasces, emblems of
authority from Roman
antiquity. French used casts of
his own fingers to achieve the
correct placement.

11. Lady Brooklyn
1915-16
Brooklyn Museum
At the time of making this
sculpture for the
memorial, Daniel Chester
French was one of the
most well know artists in
America. He was most
famous for his allegorical
figures of women and has
work all over New York
City.
The Angel of Death and the Sculptor
1921-26
The MET
Africa (from the Four
Continents)
1903-07
US Customs House
(Bowling Green)
Richard Morris Hunt
Memorial
1901
Prospect Park
Alma Mater
1903
Columbia University

12. Lincoln Memorial
Designed by Henry Bacon
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
Yule Marble (Colorado)
1922

13. Lincoln Memorial
Designed by Henry Bacon
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
Georgia Marble
1922
The “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered by civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King
during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. It was delivered
to more than a quarter of a million people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King begins
his speech with a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, stating that “…one hundred
years later, the Negro is still not free.”

14. Lincoln Memorial Final Thoughts…
• Katlelyn: I think the work done on it was REALLY precise.
And it’s really well crafted.
• Mariama: I like the design of it. I like how it’s really big and
it shows the power.
• Sarah: I like how it’s one part of history but it brings in
different people.
• Magda: There’s a lot of work that was put into Lincoln…but
the little work put into the MLK speech is a weird
juxtaposition.
• .
• .
• .

15. Lincoln Memorial Final Thoughts…
• Marco:it’s very powerful and you need to see it in person to
appreciate it. Pictures don’t do it justice.
• Nila: Agreed. I saw it in person and the pictures don’t show
how big it is.
• Jaylin: It’s tough to interpret a piece of art if you haven’t
seen it in person.
• Vraj: After seeing the image with the Obamas, it’s very
empowering.
• Jaylieen: Agreed with Nila.
• Benz: It’s celebrating this “dude” who really did a lot.
• Tenz: Scale often relates to power…seeing Obama so small is
empowering.
• .
• .
• .

16. MLK
What do you see?
• IT’s like a regular block that’s been carved into MLK. It’s like a CIRCULAR area….
• When I went it was crazy, cause he’s looking into the river....
• Looks out at the Jefferson Memorial.....
• It’s not fully carved out….maybe if he wasn’t assassinated he would have ....left a
larger imprint on america?
• .

17. MLK
What do you see?
• A statue of Dr. MLK Jr. He’s fading into rock.
• Maybe he’s EMERGING from the rock?
• Maybe he is The Rock? (Original Dwayne Johnson) “You rock”
• Aiden’s been there. He felt isolated…like it’s the only thing that’s around there.
• Nita’s also been here. There’s quotes all around the main statues on the shiny dark walls.
• Dest: I feel prideful. His STANCE. His arms together, he’s not moving. He has a point to
make.

18. Stone of Hope
Lei Yixin
2011, White Granite
The MLK Memorial towers at 30
feet high, and spans 450 feet.
Accompanying the sculptures are
quotes, inscribed on the massive
slabs of marble. The work is based
on a line from King's "I Have A
Dream" speech: "Out of the
mountain of despair, a stone of
hope.”
Visitors figuratively "pass through"
the Mountain of Despair on the
way to the Stone of Hope,
symbolically "moving through the
struggle as Dr. King did during his
life."

19. TECHNICAL PRECISION?

20. TECHNICAL PRECISION?

21. Stone of Hope
Lei Yixin
2011, White Granite
Promia: It’s like you’re joining him
in a march or protest.
Aidan: He’s facing the jefferson
memorial, confronting it.
Danisa: he’s walking AWAY from the
mountain of despair, not towards it.
(metaphorically in his past)
Arwynn: If you were to see him
first, you wouldn’t take in the
whole thing (context).
Moh: Yixin is bad at sculpting legs,
they’re so boxy!
Gyaban: Daniel Chester French has
more detail in his work….Yixin, it’s
more about the rough form.

22. Lei Yixin
Young Mao
Changsha, China
Lei Yixin was born in Hunan, China, and was one of the millions of
educated youth that was sent to rural China as part of the Cultural
Revolution (Similar to HONGTU Zhang).
He has worked as a sculptor of the human form for decades,
designing over 100 public monuments, including some of Mao
Zedong.
Lieutenant
General
Claire Lee
Chennault
In China
Meditation
In Minnesota

23. What it may feel like to walk through this space…..
• Benz: Perhaps claustrophobic? Like a bottle neck for people walking.
• Mattia: If ya weren’t paying attention, it may feel just like a cooridor or something. But maybe it could
have a heavy feeling? Like you heart would be beating really fast (#PanicAttack!)
• Nila: The two walls are closing in? Maybe suffocating?
• Kendell: There’s an anticipation to see him.
• Azalea: I’ve been there....and it’s true you can’t see MLK at first. I was trying to find where he
was. Thre’s a lot of writing on the walls. It’s very large andintimidating.

24. Standing in the Mountain
of Despair
Lei Yixin
2011, White Granite
What it may feel like to walk through this space…..
• Ingrid: I feel like it may get colder.....
• Abdul: Marching behind MLK, (he’s there!)
• Noume: It’s like a rite of passsage, as you get closer to MLK.
• Sarah: When you walk through the mountain of despair, it may
feel like it’s closing in on you.
• Aidan: There’s a sense of mystery....it’s eerie. There’s just a single
monolith in the distance.

25. Interpretation under
construction!
Despite the fanfare that attended the monument's unveiling in 2011, some keen observers
noticed that one of the quotes on the statue attributed to King was incorrect…
The offending inscription currently adorning the statue - "I was a drum major for justice, peace,
and righteousness" - is a paraphrased version of one of King's more famous lines, delivered
during a sermon at an Atlanta church in which King discussed how he might be eulogized after
his death.
What the civil rights icon actually said was far less condensed: "If you want to say that I was a
drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace. I was
a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."
(CBS News and Washington Post)

26. DRUM MAJOR: the leader of a marching band (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
DRUM MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES:
•Leading the band in performance
•Adding to the overall showmanship of the band during performance with their own performance as the
drum major
•Setting the standard for discipline, bearing, and conduct for the members of the band to follow
DRUM MAJORS: Often seen as pompous, condescending jerks who are incapable of
thinking for themselves once they have been given the position. (Urban Dictionary)
Moh: IT’s that guy in the front that’s got the little drum going drat drat drat drat
dratdratdratdratdrat.

27. Interpretation under construction!
And what a difference a few words can
make. In the eyes of some, the abridged
quote made King seem self-important.
Famed poet Maya Angelou told the
Washington Post in 2011 that the
abbreviation "makes Dr. Martin Luther King
look like an arrogant twit.” The inaccuracy
"minimizes the man," she said. "It makes
him seem an egotist.”
"He had no arrogance at all," she explained.
"He had a humility that comes from deep
inside. The 'if' clause that is left out is
salient. Leaving it out changes the meaning
completely."

28. Interpretation under construction!
The memorial's chief architect, Ed
Jackson, Jr. told the Post that the
quote was originally planned for
the statue's south face, but after
sculptor Lei Yixin told the team he
had prepared the north face for
that particular inscription - and
that the full quote would not fit -
they decided to inscribe the
shortened version of King's quote.
"We sincerely felt passionate that
the man's own eulogy should be
expressed on the stone," Jackson
said. "We said the least we could
do was define who he was based
on his perception of himself: 'I
was a drum major for this, this,
and this."

29. "I was a drum major for justice, peace,
and righteousness”
"If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for
justice, say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for
righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."
Quotes in Context???
• Arwynn: The first one is nice and all, but the second one is deeper and doesn’t have the
same effect.
• Mariama: The second one is IF you want to say….it’s probably not true, but IF you want to
say it. (conditional tense)
• Sakin: The first one is him saying he IS a drum major. The second one is him saying he
doesn’t WANT to be called a drum major...but IF you want to say…..
• Danisa: In the first one he’s proclaiming that he’s smart, he sounds cocky and
condescending.
• Dest: Maybe the architect and artist thought that MLK was the drum major….that he
actually DID have this kind of impact.

30. "I was a drum major for justice, peace,
and righteousness”
"If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for
justice, say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for
righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."
Quotes in Context???
• Tenz: For the first quote he’s saying that he was actually a drum major…the second one
tells us what he meant.
• Dak: In the first one he identifies as a drum major. But the real quote, he explains that he
wouldn’t actually say that about himself, but people may think it.
• Tatiana: Same as DAK.
• Marco: SAMESIES
• ZALEA!: SAMESIES
• .
• .

31. Final Thoughts?
• .Christian: I like the piece, I like the message. Ed Jackson
Jr. and Lei Yixin messed up!
• Christian: If you don’t know who MLK is….you’d think he’s cocky
based on that quote.
• Chrisian: If he wasn’t portrayed as cocky, he’s be seen as humble.
• Christian: hahahahha
• Marco: Agreed with Christiain….
• Kick-boxer Kaylee: I like the piece in general, but like
Tenzin said earlier, they shouldn’t have shortened th
quote at all….the way they phrased it wasn’t the way he
intended it to be. IT doesn’t portay him how it should.
(or how he was)
• Azalea: For someone like MLK, there should be more
than just this…Lincoln’s got this massive space. MLK has
a smaller space.
• Yeva: I like how it’s positioned, how you walk around to
see the majestic figure.
** HW for tomorrow: Find a quote by a historical figure that you can change the
context of by omitting certain words. (DOCUMENT THE SOURCE!)

32. Final Thoughts?
• Danisa: THEY COULD HAVE PUT THE QUOTE ON THE
SIDE! I don’t really like the cartoony style, but I do like
the idea behind it (mountain of despair, stone of hope)
• ARTAN: THERE’S MAD SPACE!! There’s plenty of room.
• Ingrid: I like how it’s not just a statue of him. It goes
deeper. It’s not like a simple memorial.
• Magda: IT’s LITERALLY there, the stone of hope. It’s kind
of like really smart.
• Cass: It’s interesting and cool looking. It serves its
purpose. (to commmemorate him)
• Promia: I like that there’s a lot of symbolism in how the
whole thing designed.
** HW for tomorrow: Find a quote by a historical figure that you can change the
context of by omitting certain words. (DOCUMENT THE SOURCE!)

33. Final Thoughts?
• Socrates: “I know I’m intelligent because there’s
nothing I don’t know.”
• “I know I’m intelligent because I know that I know
nothing.”
• Eleanor Roosevelt “Well behaved women rarely
make history.” vs. ”Well behaved women make
history.”
• “Nearly all Men cannot stand adversity. But if you
want to test a man’s character, give him power.”
• “Success is most often achieved by those who don’t
know failure is inevitable.” vs. “If you don’t
acknowledge failure than you won’t succeed.”
** HW for tomorrow: Find a quote by a historical figure that you can change the
context of by omitting certain words. (DOCUMENT THE SOURCE!)

34. Analysis of TWO war memorials
in Washington D.C.

35. How should a war memorial make you feel?
Gya: You should feel devastated based on the number of human lives lost. >Destiny: But
soliders know what they’re signing up for. They know there’s a chance of death.
Moh: It should make the viewer feel a sense of LOSS. Like during a war, how people lose
things, and their lives. >Katelyn: I’m not sure if this is the right word. Memorials don’t need to be
sad. You could feel PRIDE.
Christian: Personally, they make me feel inspired, because these people are very brave
(Kendell: because they’ve sacrificed their lives for their their country) >Artan: Agreed with
both. Sacrifice of lives can lead to pride and inspiration. (Martyrdom)
Tenz: Agree with Christian. These people fought a battle to protect our rights. Compared
to our own lives, they’ve gone through hell. We should be grateful. >prince: FACTS.
Tatiana: It should be symbolic of people who lost their lives for a cause. You should feel
grateful for it. >Sakin: If you feel grateful, it may be “glad that they died and not me.”
Acknowledgement could be realizing that they died for a greater cause.
Adrianna: You can acknowledge that they did an honorable thing, but you don’t need to feel heavy
DEVESTATED Emotions.
>>RESPONSES:

36. How should a war memorial make you feel?
Kunz: You shuld feel sad, thinking about people that died during the war. >Moh: That’s what I
said…
Adrianna: It depends on the war, who won, and what issues need to be addressed. Like in
America, if we need to make a statue for WW II, does it honor the soldiers or the victims.
>Gyaban: Agreed. Some soldiers fight for the people, others fight against the people…it all
depends on your point of view.
Artan: War Memorials are for the people who lost their lives. Like the Vietnam Memorial has
the names of the dead soldiers, and NOT a celebration of who won. >Kendell: There must be
some memorials that have a celebratory feel. (WW2 Memorial)
Michael: For me, it’s all about pride and patriotism, it’s respect for your own country…to show
how we’re all part of this country. >Christian: I agree, I met a Swedish girl at The Vietnam
memorial in D.C. And she had respect for the people whose lives were lost.
Destiny: This is to show families that their loved ones died for a reason. This acknowledges
their sacrifice.
Danisa: I disagree with Destiny. I think the families may feel that the country is starting a war
that killed their family members.
>>RESPONSES:

37. Vietnam Memorial
Designed by Maya Lin
1982
Korean War Memorial
Designed by Louise Nelson and Frank Gaylord
1995

38. Vietnam Memorial Designed by Maya Lin 1982
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. Collectively, there are
a total of 58,307 names of soldiers who were
KIA (killed in action) inscribed on the walls.
These two slabs of stone sit like a gouge from
the landscape, and the granite is highly
polished, intending for the viewers to see their
own reflection within the memorial, though the
names of fallen countrymen are superimposed
on each viewer’s reflection.

39. Vietnam Memorial Designed by Maya Lin 1982
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. Collectively, there are
a total of 58,307 names of soldiers who were
KIA (killed in action) inscribed on the walls.
These two slabs of stone sit like a gouge from
the landscape, and the granite is highly
polished, intending for the viewers to see their
own reflection within the memorial, though the
names of fallen countrymen are superimposed
on each viewer’s reflection.

40. In a triangular patch of land covered in small Juniper
bushes, stands 19 stainless steel statues of soldiers
who are approximately seven feet tall and represent
an ethnic cross section of America as well as a mixture
of members from the country’s armed forces. These
soldiers are separated by low lying granite strips. The
sculpture of troops wear ponchos covering their
weapons, and the figures almost seem to move in the
breeze.
Korean War Memorial
Designed by Louise Nelson and
Frank Gaylord
1995

41. In a triangular patch of land
covered in small Juniper
bushes, stands 19 stainless
steel statues of soldiers who
are approximately seven
feet tall and represent an
ethnic cross section of
America as well as a
mixture of members from
the country’s armed forces.
These soldiers are
separated by low lying
granite strips. The sculpture
of troops wear ponchos
covering their weapons, and
the figures almost seem to
move in the breeze.
Korean War Memorial
Designed by Louise Nelson
and Frank Gaylord
1995

42. Vietnam Memorial
Designed by Maya Lin
1982
Korean War Memorial
Designed by Louise Nelson and Frank Gaylord
1995

43. Vietnam Memorial
Designed by Maya Lin
1982
Maya Lin was born in
Athens, Ohio in 1959.
She designed “The
Wall” when she was
only 24 and an
undergraduate at Yale
University as part of a
funerary architecture
class. Despite public
criticism of her
design, the Vietnam
Veterans Memorial
Fund and the US
Congress pushed
ahead with her highly
conceptual design.

44. Korean War Memorial
Designed by Frank Gaylord
1982
Frank Gaylord was born in
1925 in Clarksburg West
Virginia and attended the
Tyler School of Art at
Temple University. He was
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
figurative works.
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
$650,000

45. “The definition of a modern approach to war is
the acknowledgement of individual lives lost.”
“War is 98% waiting and 2% hell.”
• Tenz: For the Korean War, it’s like they’re just standing ther waiting for their orders.
• Dak: For Lin, it’s clear that in the Vietnam Memorial that she’s taking the individuals into account.
• Azalea: Same as Dak.
• MB: Lin’s quote connects directly to the Vietnam Memorial.
• Levy: Thinking about the “modern approach to war” it’s kind of flawed, won’t all those names loose
their meaning after a while? It’s terrifying but these individuals lose their individuality.
• Kaylee: Gaylord’s qute connects directly too. The positioning of the statues are still and waiting. We
don’t see the 2% hell….
• Moh: People go to war to gain something, and that only happens when another side losing something.
What is a war, without loss?
• Benz: Statistics for war (or anything) is a loss of individuality.

46. “The definition of a modern approach to war is
the acknowledgement of individual lives lost.”
“War is 98% waiting and 2% hell.”
• Marco: Gaylord doesn’t show his figures in a fighting stance. They’re walking, preparing,
looking. Even the guns are conceled.
• Ingrid: Lin’s quote connects to her work, since she honors the soldiers by listing their
names on the walls.
• Promia: For Gaylord’s quote, the conceptual process may have taken longer than actually
making it.
• ABDUL: Lin focuses more on the sadness and the lives lost compared to celebrating …?
• Nita/Mariama: A memorial could celebrate BRAVERY or their LIVES, rather than the
loss.

48. Korean War Memorial
Designed by Louise Nelson and Frank Gaylord
1995

49. DO AUDIENCES HAVE STRONGER REACTIONS TO
REPRESENTATIONAL OR NON-REPRESENTATIONAL MEMORIALS?
WHICH PROMOTES A MORE EMPATHETIC RESPONSE?
• Representational art: when you can identify the subject matter
clearly.. (REALISM)
• People might “ get it” instantly, they’ll understand the meaning
really quickly.
• This leaves me with questions: ‘are they waiting? Fighting?’
• This kind of tells you exactly what it’s about, there’s less room
for interpretation.
• Non-Representational art:When you cannot identify the
subject very clearly. (ABSTRACT)
• People may react more strongly to this. Once you get what it’s
saying, it could be more meaningful, scarier.
• This one in particular is easier to understand, it literally
acknowledges the people who died.
• More room for interpretation with this work, it’s more
interesting.

50. REALISM
VS
ABSTRACTION
• Representational artwork is…..when the subject is
obvious to the viewer (you can identify WHAT you are
looking at.)
• Theresa: I think people will empathize more with this.
There’s no way to escape what it’s saying to you. You can
avoid thinking about abstract art.
• Katelyn: It’s more confrontational. In your face. You have
to stop and say DAMN. It’s so real.
• Nita: You can look at the PEOPLE and put a face to it.
• .
• .
• NON-Representational (abstract) artwork is…..when the
subject is less literal and vague or abstract.
• Promia: It’s not obvious, you need to figure it out for
yourself, and get more involved with it
• Abdul: If you have to work to understand it, you’ll
understand it more.
• Dest: This could invoke more emotion with all the
names.

51. DEBATE TODAY!
(yesterday)
Prepare opening
statements, claims, and
counter-claims!
One-min opener
Four One-min responses
One-min conclusion

52. In the early 1980s negative
feedback on Maya Lin’s
design was becoming a large
issue. Some government
workers were refusing to
issue building permits to
allow “The Wall” to be built.
And the public backlash
against the design and the
artist was formidable. At this
time, a second Vietnam
memorial was designed and
installed across from Lin’s
memorial.
Three Servicemen
By Frederick Hart
1984

53. Three Servicemen
By Frederick Hart
1984
The Three Servicemen
statue at the Vietnam
Veteran’s Memorial captures
a full range of emotions.
Taken as a whole, the statue
symbolizing the spirit of
compromise and
reconciliation. Like the
Vietnam War itself, the
controversy over the
creation of Maya Lin’s design
divided America—
opponents felt that “The
Wall” did not convey the
heroism, patriotism, and
honor that was expected in
war memorials.

54. A Tangent on….Frederick Hart Best known for his public monuments,
American sculptor Frederick Hart
maintained an intensely
representational practice throughout
the height of abstract and conceptual
art. Hart first developed his fascination
with the human figure as an apprentice
stone carver at the National Cathedral
in Washington D.C. In addition to
traditional materials such as bronze
and marble, he also pioneered the use
of clear acrylic resin to cast figurative
sculptures by embedding one clear
sculpture within another. Hart often
created reliefs and freestanding
monuments that were integrated into
religious and governmental
architecture.

55. An outspoken critic of abstract art
movements and the shift away from
absolute notions of beauty, he
considered himself a direct inheritor of
an old representational tradition in
sculpture closely wedded to religion
and moral responsibility.
Hart’s work speaks to a style that
would have been more widely
appreciated by the fine art community
in the early 1900s. While his work
contains metaphor and allegory, it is
less concerned with concept than it is
with popularly accepted forms of
aesthetic beauty. Hart’s work does not
aim to challenge, as much as it aims to
compliment.
A Tangent on….Frederick Hart

56. George Washington as a national church— a house
of prayer for all people to come together to
celebrate the events that shape a nation. This
Cathedral completed over eighty-three years (1907-
1990), is the sixth largest Gothic cathedral in the
world and quite possibly the last of its kind ever to
be built.
In 1971, when Hart as a young man had established
himself as a stone carver and sculptor at the
Cathedral, an international sculpture competition
was announced to complete the Cathedral’s west
façade. Hart, a relatively unknown sculptor, worked
passionately on his design for three years, and at the
age of thirty-one, he won this prestigious
commission. Tom Wolfe, the seminal author of our
times, commented that Hart won what would turn
out to be “the most important American religious
commission of the twentieth century.”
A Tangent on….Frederick Hart

57. “I was convinced I was destined to do this,” Hart said. It was an assignment
that occupied virtually the next thirteen years of his life.
The commission for the west façade of Washington National Cathedral,
Creation Sculptures, consists of: Creation of Day, Creation of Night and Ex
Nihilo tympana and the trumeau figures of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Adam.
A Tangent on….Frederick Hart

58. Frederick Hart’s Ex Nihilo at Washington National Cathedral

59. This multi-figure bronze
monument was designed by
New Mexico sculptor, Glenna
Goodacre. It is a sculpture in
the round (meant to be viewed
from all angles, without a
‘front’ or ‘back’) portraying
three Vietnam-era women, one
of whom is caring for a
wounded male soldier, another
who is looing up, possibly for a
medical evacuation, and a final
woman who is praying or in
deep thought. The entire
sculpture stands about seven
feet tall, and weights about one
ton.
Vietnam Women’s Memorial
Glenna Goodacre
1993

60. This multi-figure bronze
monument was designed by
New Mexico sculptor, Glenna
Goodacre. It is a sculpture in
the round (meant to be viewed
from all angles, without a
‘front’ or ‘back’) portraying
three Vietnam-era women, one
of whom is caring for a
wounded male soldier, another
who is looing up, possibly for a
medical evacuation, and a final
woman who is praying or in
deep thought. The entire
sculpture stands about seven
feet tall, and weights about one
ton.
Vietnam Women’s Memorial
Glenna Goodacre
1993

61. Glenna Goodacre is probably best known for her work
on the Sacagawea dollar coin that came into
circulation in the USA in 2000. She has worked as a
commercial artist making monuments, memorials,
and smaller scale work for mass production.
“I’ve always liked portraying
people, ever since I started
tracing comic books in grade
school,” laughs the native of
Lubbock, TX, “I never did do
horses or other animals. That just
wasn’t my thing.”

62. Final Thoughts on War Memorials??
• Tenz: It’s a good idea to have war memorials. Other nations may ignore soldiers who sacrifice
their lives….but this starts a conversation.
• Moh: War is beautiful and destructive. The way artists portray war is amazing.
• Tatiana: Times of peace are beautiful....Like when there’s a ceasefire and soldiers find common
ground.
• Kaylee: These artists who make these memorials do a great job at honoring the soldiers....even if
there’s controvesy on HOW they’re shown.
• Christian: I like these memorials, they’re great. They could make you feel proud and nationalistic.
You know people died having your back.
• Azalea: These memorials help with tourism in D.C. and they boost our ego and how we look.
• .

63. Final Thoughts on War Memorials??
• ..Ingrid: I really like Goodacre’s Women’s Memorial. You have to walk all around it to see the whole thing…it’s
like telling you to look at everyone’s perspective to see “war.”
• Danisa: I always thought that war memorials should be more like Maya Lin’s work....where you honor people in
the war.
• Dest: It’s important to acknowledge the names of lives lost in combat. Statues of soldiers convey too much
celebration...when we should feel sadness for these events.
• Mariama: I like the representational statues. But they’re kind of all the same. They’re like cliche’ war
memorials.
• Arwynn: Despite how they’re made, I think a war memorial should be confrontational. Not a celebration.
• Michael: I used to be more about the represenational memorials, but now I can see that abstract work CAN
honor the lives, and change how you feel about the war, how it was fought. How it represents US.
• Abdul: Maya Lin’s is more personal, emphasizing how important each individual was.

64. War Memorials
Abroad
Statue of Brothers
By Choi Young-jeep
1994
Seoul, South Korea

65. War Memorials
Abroad
Statue of Brothers
By Choi Young-jeep
1994
Seoul, South Korea
The upper part of the statue depicts a scene
where a family's older brother, an ROK officer,
and his younger brother, a North Korean soldier,
meet in a battlefield and express reconciliation,
love, and forgiveness.

66. War Memorials
Abroad
Outside of the USA, the
Vietnam War (1954-1975) is
sometimes known as the
Second Indochina War, and in
Vietnam it is often referrted to
as the Resistance War Against
America (Kháng chiến chống
Mỹ) or simply the American
War. This memorial intends to
honor the men and women
who sacrificed their lives
during this time.
Memorial to the Revolutionary Martyrs
1993, Ba Đình Square, Hanoi.

67. War Memorials
Abroad
The way that it was designed,
in harmony with land, sky, air
and water, is believed to keep
the examples of these heroes
forever in Vietnamese’s mind.
In important occasions, such as
presidential visit from other
countries, it is popular for the
high-ranked government
officers to show their respect
at the memorial, by bringing
flowers or putting on incense.
Memorial to the Revolutionary Martyrs
1993, Ba Đình Square, Hanoi.

68. War Memorials
Abroad
The Great Representation Debate continues…..

69. War Memorials
Abroad
War Memorial sculpture made from downed US Aircraft parts
Hanoi Army Museum

70. What would a memorial for the War in Afghanistan look like?
• Marco: From an American Perspective (Keeping the peace)….vs an Afghanistan
perspective (invasion and disrespect).
• Artan: For an monument in America, it would relate to “stopping terrorism”
• Danisa: Not a fan of war memorials in general....but I think a memorial shouldn’t exist for
this war. We shouldn’t even be there.
• Arwynn: Agree. This shouldn’t be a “celebratory” memorial. Americans have died,
Afghan civilians have died. .
• .

71. Afghanistan War Memorial, Yekaterinburg, Russia