Minimalist Art and the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial: Reclaming Our Monuments

Minimalist Art and the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial
Elaboration on the unpublished article
Article posted on Reclaiming Beauty Articles: June 7. 2011

War memorials are an integral part of civilizations and their histories. One just has to look at the resplendent and grandiose Arc de Triomphe standing tall, at the center of a star-shaped street structure in Paris, to see how it affects the city and the people around it. The more dignified Trafalgar Square holds its distinction with lions, fountains and Nelson on the pedestal, and its vast public esplanade.

War memorials have always been about honoring their dead. And it isn’t false honor, since the mere dedication of a sculpture or a square is indicative of some outstanding effort that was made, whether it be winning a battle, holding a front, or just staying the course for so long.

This is why the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is such a disappointment. History is slowly exposing the real costs and gains behind that war, including the ultimate winners and losers. And the balance lies more on the American side. Yet, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is all about expiation and loss.

on a college project for a funerary design when she submitted her winning entry,

There was fierce opposition to the memorial from the start, where statesmen, veterans and the general public demanded that a more heroic symbol be built. One of the most poignant outrages was that nowhere on the monument is the word Vietnam carved, as though the place never existed, and the soldiers fought a non-existent war.

This controversy precipitated the erection of another monument. Sculptor Frederick Hart, whose base-reliefs adorn the great Washington National Cathedral, constructed a three-man composition which he called The Three Soldiers, clearly Vietnam soldiers standing in their combat gear and rifles. Lin was displeased by this new addition, and demanded that it be placed as far away from her contribution as possible. And no flag to render her area like a golf course, she declared. A flagpole was nonetheless placed near the The Three Soldiers with the fitting inscription: “This flag represents the services rendered to our country by the veterans of the Vietnam War.”



What eventually happened was that the memorial garnered popularity as a focus for grief. Even Lin acknowledges her subtle coercion when she says: “I actually feel like I controlled it a little too much… I knew that one's first immediate reaction… could very well be that you were going to cry.” Her design was to create a repository for unappeasable mourning, and in the end, that is what became of the granite wall.

Lin continues in the art world with sporadic contributions as an abstract, minimalist sculptor, and architect of a few lackluster buildings. She was one of the jury for the 911 memorial competition, and a strong promoter for the design that won. Once again, the winning design was a commemoration to insatiable grief as symbolized by two 30-feet deep holes at the spots where the towers stood. The contending design was more serene and spiritual, evoking enveloping clouds and sparkling lights. It is still hard for Lin to leave the black wall of death. Her original idea describing the wall: “I had a general idea that I wanted to describe a journey...a journey that would make you experience death…” holds to this day.


Maya Lin's collaboration with fashion designer Phillip Lim, in 2016.
The event took place in a pier warehouse-e where Lin's mounds of dirt fit well with Lim's postmodern androgyny

“I needed a raw, large venue to create this work...the Pier was the first place we saw, and the scale and rawness of the space was perfect,” Ms. Lin told the Observer.

But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, or the wall, as the case may be. More recent memorials are giving credence to their lost heroes. The Korean War Veterans Memorial, unveiled in 1995, is a triangular field of 19 stone soldiers with a clear dedication to the veterans. And the National World War II Memorial, which opened in 2004, also includes a wall with symbolic stars representing the fallen soldiers.

Frederick Hart, on meeting Lin, confidently told her, “My statue is going to improve your memorial.“ Time has already proven him correct. The collection of photographs at the veteran-ran The Wall USA website emphasizes the Three Soldiers statue more than the wall, and uses the granite wall many times as a backdrop to reflect this.

The original memorial celebrated its 25th anniversary this November, and it already looks quite different from its initial granite wall concept. Lin’s minimalist abstraction, which only succeeded in making the wall an empty repository for grief, is slowly being improved by more concrete and tangible elements. A Women’s Memorial was added, and a new plaque commemorating the veterans who died after the war lies near the Three Soldiers. There is not much to be proud about war, but there is pride and honor due to the soldiers who fight in them.


Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington Virgina

Bust of the Christ Child

[Photo by KPA]

Antonio Rossellino
(Italian, 1427–1478)
Bust of the Christ Child, ca. 1460–70
(On wooden base over column. The halo on His head is modern.)

Marble, with nineteenth-century metal halo
With base, 18 7/8 inches x 11 inches x 15 3/8 inches
Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1906

More information here

Mosaic of Mary: St. Michael's Hospital Chapel in Toronto

[Photo by: KPA]

Infused With Beauty

The last time went to the Fraunces Tavern Museum website (only about a week ago), I didn't notice this new acquisition:

Fraunces Tavern Museum is proud to announce the most recent acquisition, a terra cotta bust of George Washington. This bust is a 19th century draped a l ‘antique unsigned copy of the original bust made by Jean-Antoine Houdon in 1785.

I've written about this bust here and here. And, Larry Auster, whose admiration of the bust I shared, wrote about the bust, and made a post here on my commentary on the sculpture.

I wrote in the commentary Auster/Asrat: Interaction on Beauty:

Although Larry Auster didn't directly write about beauty, his work is infused with the desire to bring beauty back into our world.

One of the most memorable posts he did on art (and beauty) was his reaction to a bust of George Washington. The image of the bust he has posted is huge and takes up the whole screen, so that we, like him, can have as close a look at it as possible. [the rest of my post is here]

So, it is a nice surprise that a museum is bringing this piece into its collections.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat

Hurried Views

I had another whirlwind of a trip to Philadelphia (and New York) last week. I finally arrived at my destination in Philadelphia after a couple of incidents. This seems to be a regular occurence on my trips. The last time involved a Greyhound bus which took me to the wrong destination (see here, where I ended up in Cleveland on my way to Steubenville Ohio). And this time it was a Canada goose.

We got stuck in Mount Cobb, Pennsylvania after a north-migrating (returning to Canada, actually) Canada goose smashed into the windshield on the driver's side. We were ceremoniously escorted to the nearest Burger King, and about three hours later, a replacement bus took us to our final destination of Port Authority.

But the trip was a wonderful respite, and I wasn't going to let a couple of incidents spoil it. I managed to pack in, with the help of my friends, quite a schedule.

We visited Larry's grave in the beautiful St. Peter and St. Paul Cemetery in Springfield Pennsylvania, to commemorate the second year of his death. The statue behind me is St. Paul's. And I am standing under the oak tree, which I write about here.



Below, I've posted the various photographs I took over these five days.

On the Road through Ontario, New York State and Pennsylvania (and New Jersey for a bit)








At Buffalo














That is a small lake in the background, I tried to find out its name, but it was too small to find on my google map.





I finally could see the New York skyline in New Jersey. It was dark, and I would reach the city's bus terminal about an hour later. I would travel to Philadelphia the next morning.

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Pennsylvania

Longwood Conservatory, in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania


Glory-of-the-snow flowers blooming in a field at Longwood Gardens



Glory-of-the-snow are "one of the first harbingers of spring," according to this site. We were just about to leave the cold (and long, this year) winter and the snow as I got to Philadelphia, and this field of flowers showed us that spring is ahead.


Star Magnolia tree in bloom


Pierre Dupont Conservatory

DuPont built his home above the conservatory, and could see the plants from his bedroom window!

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Homes near the area where I stayed, a couple of hours from Phildelphia









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New York for a day


Marble floor at the New York Public Library


Portrait of James Lenox, founder of the Lenox Library of the NYPL

I should have got just a close-up of the portrait, but here is one in black and white of I think the same one.


View from the main entrance at the New York Public Library, with 41st Street


Plaque with Yeats Poem in the Library Way, on 41st Street between 5th and Park


Atlas at the Rockefeller

The reflection in the glass in the background is of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. It seems an apt metaphor for the seizure of the pagan, Roman god of by Christians.

I was so busy trying to get the Atlas image, that I didn't even notice the reflection.

As some kind of penance - inadverantly - I went to Saint Patrick's and lit a candle.


Lions at the Rockefeller Plaza" "Arms of England"
Frieze by Lee Lawrie

The 50th entrance to the British Empire building features three walking lions looking out towards the viewer from the building. Below is a row of red Tudor roses. [From this site]

Saint Francis of Assisi with birds at the Rockefeller Plaza
Frieze by Lee Lawrie

More on Lew Lawrie here.

All the Rockefeller friezes are here.


Manhattan Building

I took this somewhere mid-town (between 47th and 59th streets) on Madison or Fifth. I should have written down the street.


Plaza Hotel entrance


Pomona Statue and fountain by the Grand Army Plaza, next to the Plaza Hotel and by Central Park

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Saint Patrick's Cathedral Stained Glass, with Mary

I asked a docent in the cathedral if he could show me any stained glass with Mary, since I didn't have much time.

I lit a candle under the stained glass as I left. The stained glass is near the door (it is the second one in at the right entry), and there are candles right underneath it.

Here is another where in my rush I neglected to take one of the full glass, and instead, I took the bottom half, where the intricate lace-like design caught my attention.


Saint Patrick's Stained Glass

Here is a photo of the full stained glass.

Several sites write that Henry Ely made the stained glass, which they title "Three Baptisms." But they don't reference that information. It is strangely hard to find information on the stained glass online, but here is something in Google Books, under the title: New York City: Vol 1, New York City Guide (page 345):

Forty-five of the seventy stained glass windows are from the studios of Nicholas Lorin at Chartres, and Henry Ely at Nantes. Rich in tone, some dark some of pastel lightness - and combined with elaborate tracery, they glow in the sunshine, but unfortunately, much of the detail in them is too delicate to be legible at a distance. They become simply patterns of red, yellow, green, blue and purple against the framework of the stone walls which, in the dusky night, takes on a tone of deepest gray.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat

Good Friday

Crucifix
Date: ca. 1150–1200
Geography: Made in Palencia, Castile-León, Spain
Medium:
- Corpus: white oak and pine with polychromy, gilding, and applied stones
- Cross: red pine, polychromy
Dimensions: Overall (cross): 102 1/2 x 81 3/4 in
Location: Fuentiduena Chapel, in the Cloisters Museum, New York

Matthew 27:35-37

And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

And sitting down they watched him there;

And set up over his head his accusation written, This Is Jesus The King Of The Jews.

Matthew 27:45-53

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.

And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat

Soup With a Companion

[Photo By: KPA]
Cow from "The Pasture"
Toronto Dominion Centre
Foe Fafard
1985

I had this calm and pleasant companion as I sat in the TD Centre in downtown Toronto, as I warmed up with a Tim Horton's Cream of Broccoli soup on that sunny but very cold day. The soup was delicious ("A lush soup made with broccoli florets combined in a velvety cream base"), and the companion quietly, and politely, solicited this photograph.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat

Merry Christmas!

Standing Virgin and Child
Attributed to Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leiden
(North Netherlandish, active in Strasbourg, 1460–1473)
Date: ca. 1470
Medium: Boxwood, tinted lips and eyes
Dimensions: 13 1/4 x 5 1/8 x 3 9/16 in.
Cloisters Medieval Gallery, New York
[Photo by KPA, August 2012]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Straus Park, New York

Straus Park in Bloom
[Photos By: KPA]


I am slowly processing and filing all the photographs I took during my recent trip to New York.

Here are some of Straus Park.

I have already taken several of the Park in my previous visits, but I managed to find a floral display before the statue at this visit.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Commerce, Government, Art and Gardens in Philadelphia

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Below is background on the Classical Revival style of the Philadelphia Museum of Art:

The City Council of Philadelphia funded a competition in 1895 to design a new museum building,but it was not until 1907 that plans were first made to construct it on Fairmount, a rocky hill topped by the city's main reservoir. The Fairmount Parkway (renamed Benjamin Franklin Parkway), a grand boulevard that cut diagonally across the grid of city streets, was designed to terminate at the foot of the hill. But there were conflicting views about whether to erect a single museum building, or a number of buildings to house individual collections. The architectural firms of Horace Trumbauer and Zantzinger, Borie and Medary collaborated for more than a decade to resolve these issues. The final design is mostly credited to two architects in Trumbauer's firm: Howell Lewis Shay for the building's plan and massing, and Julian Abele for the detail work and perspective drawings...

[T]he new building was not completed until 1928.[11] The facade and columns are made of Minnesota dolomite.

The wings were built first, which helped assure funding for the completion of the design.
The building's eight pediments were intended to be adorned with sculpture groups. The only pediment that has been completed, "Western Civilization" (1933) by C. Paul Jennewein, features his polychrome sculptures of painted terra-cotta figures, depicting Greek deities and mythological figures. It was completed in 1933...The building is also adorned by a collection of bronze griffins, which were adopted as the symbol of the museum in the 1970s.

I'm a New Yorker, through and through. You cannot convince me of the superiority of any other city, even of Paris.

But, each city has its own wonders, charms and hidden gems. The Bourse is one such place in Philadelphia. And another, just a few block away, is Washington Square. And New York may boast of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but the gorgeous setting of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, on a hill, surpasses even what the Met folks can say. And it's collections are no less inferior. And does Central Park have any fantastic fountain garden to rival the Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia?

I've posted photographs of these sites which I took while in Philadelphia this past July.


The Italian Water Garden
Longwood Gardens
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania (about one hour west of Philadelphia)

From the Longwood Gardens website:

Pierre S. du Pont's love of water and fountains is embodied in this Garden. Simple color tones—green grass, blue-tiled fountains, and sparkling water—create a serene atmosphere.

Mr. du Pont planned every aspect of this Garden, from the sculptures inspired by his travels in Italy to the hydraulic calculations. He even calculated that the northernmost pools needed to be built 14 feet longer than the southernmost pool to appear symmetrical from the viewing deck.

Experience a piece of Europe with this water delight that runs from 9:00 am–5:45 pm daily mid-April through mid-October, and until dusk on Friday and Saturday evenings during the Festival of Fountains.

The basic layout of this much-loved water Garden, which debuted in 1927, is similar to one seen by the du Ponts at the Villa Gamberaia near Florence, Italy.

From the Longwood Garden vistor's guide booklet:

Experience the world of Longwood Gardens...a place to see dazzling displays that elevate the art of horticulture...a place to enjoy performances that inspire..a place to watch majestic fountains spring to life...a place to relax and reconnect with nature. Discover our storied heritage and the indelible mark of our founder, Pierre S. du Pont, which guides us today. Explore one of the great gardens of the world, from our 4-acre Conservatory to the splendor of our outdoor gardens spanning 1,077 acres. Step out of your world and into ours...where the living things that surround you make you feel more alive.

The fountains are by no means the only features. The small guide booklet lists 22, from an "Idea Gardne" to various floral gardens, including wisteria and roses. Here is a link to the outdoor garden map. The letters and number thumbnails pop-up images of the various gardens, and clicking on them will take you to the website. Number 21 is the Italian Water Garden.


The Bourse Building

The Bourse's website describes it thus:

The concept of the Bourse – meaning a place of exchange – was brought to Philadelphia in 1890 by George E. Bartol, a prosperous Philadelphia grain and commodities exporter. While in Europe, Bartol visited the great Bourse in Hamburg, Germany. Upon his return to the United States, Bartol called together the most influential businessmen and merchants in the city, asking them to pool their resources to construct the city’s own business center – a Philadelphia Bourse.

In 1891, The Philadelphia Bourse Corporation was formed, with each member subscribing $1,000 to the project, by an issue of stock and mortgage. The Bourse motto was “buy, sell, ship via Philadelphia”.

The Philadelphia Bourse Building, the first commodities exchange in the United States, was completed in 1895. The building was one of the first steel-framed buildings to be constructed. Three types of masonry were used on the facade: Carlisle redstone, Pompeian buff brick and terra cotta. Inside were large columns and pilasters leading to a balcony surrounding the main floor. Bow-top girders were used to support a skylight at the third floor.

The original tenants included the American Telephone and Telegraphy, Moore and McCormick Steamships lines, grain dealers and export agents. The Bourse was also home to the Commercial Exchange, the Maritime Exchange, Grocers and Importers Exchange and the Board of Trade.
Quotations from all markets of the world and the latest financial news were received by telegraph. Pneumatic tubes connected the Bourse directly with the United States Post Office. A trading clock signaled the end of every business day.

Kaiserman Company, Inc. purchased The Philadelphia Bourse Building in 1979, renaming it “The Bourse” and adapting it as a retail and office complex. The restoration took three years to complete at a cost of $20 million, twenty times greater than the original construction cost.

Celebrating over 100 years as a center for commerce and trade, The Bourse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, it is one of Philadelphia’s leading commercial complexes, home to 24 retail and food service stores and more than 50 businesses.

I went to the Bourse with my friend in Philadelphia, and we had a simple deli meal in the food court of soup and sandwich.

The current Philadelphia stock exchange is at 19th and Market, not that far from the Bourse.

The Philadelphia Washington Square, which has the same name as the more famous (or infamous) New York Washington Square, is a peaceful park, unlike the hustling and bustling New York version.


The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies within Washington Square,
with a statue of George Washington, and an Eternal Flame

Messages engraved on the wall of the memorial include:
- "Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness"

- "The independence and liberty you possess are the work of
joint councils and joint efforts of common dangers, suffering
and success [Washington Farewell Address, Sept. 17, 1796]"

- "In unmarked graves within this square lie thousands of
unknown soldiers of Washington's Army who died of wounds and
sickness during the Revolutionary War."

I took a photograph of the statue of Washington, at the far end of the square, which stands above the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier.

Below is background on the Tomb of the Unkonw Revolutionary Soldier:

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies within Washington Square, one of the five public parks drawn up by William Penn in his 1682 blueprint for Philadelphia...Shortly after the square was laid out, however, it was being used for a wholly other purpose — as a potter's field. Burials in Washington Square, then known as Southeast Square, started in 1706 and continued for nearly nine decades...

Over the years, the square has been used for as a fishing hole, cow pasture, hayfield, duck hunting spot and, appropriately enough, revival meeting grounds. 19th-century historian John Watson reports that slaves would be allowed to congregate in the square during holidays, sometimes numbering a thousand, holding dances and honoring the "sleeping dust below."

By 1776, that "sleeping dust" would be jolted by the first Revolutionary War casualties...

By 1778, Washington Square would be the last barracks for the thousands of soldiers who died in Philadelphia. Though not much fighting occurred in Philadelphia during the War, plenty of dying did. Those wounded in nearby battles, or those sick with disease would be brought to Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Hospital and the Bettering House for the Poor filled quickly. Churches became ad-hoc hospitals...

The Colonials reoccupied Philadelphia in 1778 and became the jailkeepers at Walnut Street. No doubt a Millgram (where prisoners became the guards) atmosphere prevailed when the prisoners got to run the jail. Suffice it to say, many bodies of British soldiers also are interred in Washington Square, sleeping far from Albion's shores.

In 1793, the square once again served as a mass graveyard — this time for wracked, malodorous victims of the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic. Philadelphia was literally decimated by this epidemic: about 5,000 of Philadelphia's 50,000 residents were taken by the Aedes mosquito. Washington Square was once again pockmarked by stench-filled trenches.

After the square stopped functioning as a cemetery, a beautifying campaign was undertaken. In 1825, the Square was renamed in honor of George Washington, commander of many of the troops buried within it.

In 1954, the Washington Square Planning Committee decided to erect a memorial that honored both George Washington and an unknown soldier from the Revolutionary War. There was a catch, however — culling a Colonial soldier from this unmarked golgotha. In 1956 an archaeological team was brought in. They dug nine holes mostly in the northwest quadrant of the square. The first bodies the archaeologists discovered belonged to three paupers, identifiable as such by canvas sheets serving as their graveclothes. Some exploratory holes found single graves, not the mass trenches which were being looked for. Finally, a mass grave was found. Within they found the undisturbed remains of a male about twenty years old within the vestiges of an oak coffin. The skull had evidence of a "plow wound" which could have been caused by a musket ball. This would be the body used for the unknown soldier.

Though the archaeologists and historians were fairly certain that this disinterred body was that of a Revolutionary War soldier, one vexing question still remains: Was the body that of a British soldier or a lad who had just started calling himself by a new name — American?...

The tomb of the Unknown Soldier itself bears the words: "Beneath this stone rests a soldier of Washington's army who died to give you liberty."

An eternal flame flickers in front of a wall bearing a replica of Jean Antoine Houdon's famous bronze sculpture of George Washington. Washington's eyes gaze eternally upon nearby Independence Hall.

The Longwood Gardens, Small Lake

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[Photos By: KPA]
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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