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Monument Dbq

Decent Essays

Monuments are structures that give importance to an event, person, or place. They are designed not only to remind people of the past, but to stir emotions in their viewer. To make them truly monumental, monuments have many factors to consider in creation. Monuments should be well thought out in terms of placement, motive for building, and design. In order for a monument to get a greater value of importance the placement of the monument is crucial. The placement of a monument is not only important because of how populated a place is but also the relation between the place and the monument. Even the smallest consideration to detail can make a difference in the awe a monument inspires. For example, Source G states “The vietnam veterans …show more content…

There is a massive carving of a great Sioux leader, Crazy Horse, in a South Dakota peak near Rapid City. At least there is part of a carving. The work on this monument has been going on since 1948. While the original artist had honorable intentions, his solitary dream turned out to be more than he could accomplish. Even the people who he intended to honor have mixed feelings about the carving. The Indians of Crazy Horse’s tribe have misgivings because "It depicts a proud man whose image was never captured in a photograph or drawing."(Source C) If the motive of the memorial was to help the Indians, there may have been better ways to go about it. Time, talent and money invested in carving the statue could have been spent on cultural education to help preserve the proud heritage of the Indians. The Crazy Horse monument seemed more about one individual than the Indian tribe. A monument should serve a greater cause, not just promote a single …show more content…

To pay tribute to one of Maine’s most popular industries, the state commissioned a bronze sculpture of a lobsterman kneeling down with his catch, to be displayed at the World’s Fair in 1939. Unfortunately, the sculpture didn’t quite turn out as planned. "The Maine Lobsterman sculpture was subject to many hardships before finally ending up in Washington DC." (Source F) The Maine lobsterman's first setback was when it was being created. Maine’s fund for the monument ran out of money before it was cast. As a result, the artist ended up painting bronze over plaster instead of casting the lobsterman in bronze. After the World’s Fair no one seemed to want the Lobsterman. The fake monument wasn’t valuable to anyone and so spent forty years homeless, being moved from place to place and ended up in a warehouse until he was saved by the Camp Fire Girls and finally cast in bronze. Had the monument been made with the proper material to begin with, perhaps it would not have had such a neglected history. Perhaps the real problem is that monuments themselves may be an outdated concept. The world is changing so fast that trying to memorialize someone or some group is mute because there will always be another person or group coming after them doing something more. No matter where, how, or why you build it, time buffers people's’ feelings toward the

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