Not offered 2007-2008
ARTH 402 Monument/Antimonument: The Art of Memorial
The urge to commemorate individuals, heroic acts, historic events whether unspeakable or splendid is both human and timeless. This seminar will document and explore the concept
of what is monumental, as well the nature of commemorative monuments, from the ancient
Mediterranean (Egypt; Mycenae; Greece of the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Periods;
Imperial Rome) and their influence on monuments in later history, especially those of the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The current trend towards countermonuments, or
anti-monuments, such as Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial or the Gerzes' vanishing
Monument Against Fascism, War and Violence and For Peace and Human Rights in
Hamburg/Harburg will be discussed in light of the monumental tradition of combining
word, image, and architecture to create memorials that will endure in both spatial and
temporal terms. The current discussion of Holocaust memorials and the problems inherent in
the design of a monument for the WTC will also be addressed. Students will be asked to
design a commemorative project for the final class meeting.
Requirements: participation; presentations and term paper; short design project.
MCGOWAN