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monuments

Whose Heritage? Public Symbols of the Confederacy

“In [recent years], the South’s 150-year reverence for the Confederacy was shaken. Public officials responded to the national mourning and outcry by removing prominent public displays of its most recognizable symbol [the flag]. It became a moment of deep reflection for a region where the Confederate flag is viewed by many white Southerners as an emblem of their heritage and regional pride despite its association with slavery, Jim Crow and the violent resistance to the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.”

Source: www.splcenter.org

Just a few more links that I’ve added to the article, Cultural Meaning in Moving Monuments.  Right now, many people are calling for the removal of all memorials that honor the Confederacy and the call for the removal of all Confederate monuments is in full swing.  

 

Tags: monuments, the South, architecture, race, cultural norms, landscape.

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New Orleans to remove prominent Confederate statues and monuments

Statues to Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard and Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis will be removed.

Source: www.businessinsider.com

I find issues such as these endlessly fascinating because it the cultural politics behind the shaping of the landscape are so evident. The cultural landscape clearly isn’t just an innocent reflection of the society, but is actively constructed and contested.  Some, including the NOLA mayor, claim that it isn’t political, but preserving or reconfiguring a place’s public cultural heritage is always political.

 

Tags: monuments, New Orleans, the South,  urban, architecture, landscape.

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Memorializing Manzanar

“During World War II the US government incarcerated over 110,000 Japanese Americans, in ten different detention centers throughout the United States.  One of these sites was Manzanar; in 1992, Manzanar was declared a National Historic Site. But apart from the cemetery, there was little there. The committee did not want to settle for a staid, sterile museum and so they worked with the National Park Service to rebuild portions of the camp exactly as they had been during the war. The most powerful symbol might be the site’s newest addition, a replica of the women’s latrine with a trough sink and row of five toilets with no dividers between them. It’s a stark reminder of the humiliation felt by many Japanese Americans during their incarceration.  The annual pilgrimage of Japanese-Americans and others will take place on April 29th, 2017.”

Source: 99percentinvisible.org

How we collectively remember history in the landscape?  Do you erase national embarrassments that open wounds of the past or is the act of memorialization cathartic and part of becoming a better country?  After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. listened to the fears of the public and military officials and interned U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry.  Today, how this history is remembered is deeply important to many groups in the United States.  There are some great images, videos and primary sources in this episode of the 99 Percent Invisible podcast. 

 

Tags: podcast, culture, California, historical, monuments, place, landscape.

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Investing in Monumental Architecture

City Hall in Philadelphia is a fantastic example of using architecture to create civic pride by investing in iconic, public buildings. Monumental architecture helps to create a sense of place and communal identity. This building has open air access, making the public feel that this is more their building.”

Source: www.instagram.com

Question to Ponder: Is it “worth it” for government’s to invest taxpayer dollars on ornate architecture? 

 

Tags: space, monuments, urban, architecture, place, landscape.

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‘Charging Bull’ sculptor says New York’s ‘Fearless Girl’ statue violates his rights

Arturo Di Modica says ‘advertising trick’ placed in Wall Street before international women’s day infringed artistic copyright

Source: www.theguardian.com

The meanings embedded in the cultural landscape can shift, and often carry meanings that the artists, architects, and planners never intended.  Certain meanings in the landscape are going to be more valuable to particular cultural groups and there will always be attempts to shape the narrative about the meanings of a given place and what it ‘should’ be.  Power and resistance to power are both deeply ingrained in many landscapes.  

 

Tags: gender, space, monuments, urban, architecture, NYC, place, landscape.

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Unlocking The National Mall

Lisa Benton-Short, author of The National Mall: No Ordinary Public Space talks about the overlooked urban National park sites, getting inspired by her own neighbourhood, and more.

Source: utpblog.utpress.utoronto.ca

The National Mall has been transformed so much in that last 200 years.  Lisa Benton-Short, in this interview about her book says, “The Mall has been a place where I connect to American history and identity, and our country’s founding principles and ideals. It is place where you can feel the power of the monuments and memorials, the legacy of events, marches and protests. The Mall is an incredibly meaningful place. This book is the result of my intellectual curiosity as a scholar, but also my personal attachment to this place.”

 

Tags: historical, space, monuments, place, landscape.

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