1. The Art of Remembering
Art isn't just lead on paper, or paint on canvas, but art is art because of the thought and meaning put behind those drawings and paintings. In fact, art can be many things, even stone statues and marble objects meant to commemorate someone or something. In the same way, memorials are also art, not because of how majestic they look or how beautiful they are, but because of the meaning and emotion being put into the process of building them.
This past first week in AP Language, we learned about memorials and the aspects that make them so significant. Specifically, we learned more in depth on the small details that the sculptors and architects intentionally add, the geographical importance of the monuments, and the placements of these monuments. 
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, for example, is sunken into the ground, instead of towering above visitors like traditional memorials. This choice in architecture was actually intended: to make visitors feel as though they are looking down into the names etched onto stone, as if looking at a deep wound. As shown in the name, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was created in remembrance of the.. well, Vietnam War. It commemorates those lost in the Vietnam War and comforts those who lost their loved ones in the Vietnam War. Similarly to a painting created to capture the emotions and memories of an artist, memorials like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial carry the collective emotions and memories of people all around the world. Memorials remind us that art isn't restricted just to galleries and auctions. They are proof that art's greatest power is the memory it holds and the generations it brings together through mutual understanding and remembrance.
Good job on summarizing the key aspects we went over in class about the Vietnam memorial. You talk about the structure of the memorial, how it is etched onto the ground to represent a deep wound. Some other details you could mention include the reflectiveness of the memorial, which could reflect the viewers image with the names to further connect them. Another detail you could use is the bent structure of the memorial. Overall though, great work!
ReplyDeleteI love the way you connected something as abstract as art with a tangible object like a memorial. It’s interesting how you emphasize art as more than just something beautiful, and instead being more of a collection of emotions put into a physical form. I’ve always thought of art as a pretty painting hung on a gallery wall, and this changed my perspective on what can be considered art. I definitely agree that the feeling art can convey is much more important than the appearance, and linking it to memorials was a great way to support your point.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of connecting the idea of art to monuments. I alos like how you explained that the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is not just a question of being striking, but of the emotions it evokes in those who view it. You did a nice job of showing how the fact that the wall is sunk into the ground makes it seem like a wound. You could also mention how the reflective surface shows the people's faces with the names, which really hammers home the personal connection between the dead and living. Overall, this was an effective post that makes me think about memorials in a different way.
ReplyDeleteI think it was insightful of you to connect art to monuments. I thought it was eye opening how you elaborated the Vietnam memorials isn't just striking, but evokes emotion for those who visit it. The connection of how the integration of the memorial into the landscape was done with a cut into the earth which represents the wound in which the war left was a fresh perspective.
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