Annually, approximately four million people will visit the Statue of Liberty (Productions, Mixit). The monument holds many meanings; a symbol of Franco-American alliance, freedom, and liberty (LLC, Shea Media.). Lady Liberty, and many other monuments, are held in high regard and beloved by the American people. But how did this monument, and others, come to be? The idea of monumentalizing an event or person isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. While some people may think the process is easy, many factors need to be taken into consideration. There are four main factors that should be considered in the process of building a monument: The worthiness of the event or person being considered for monumentalization, the location of the proposed monument, and the materials and process of making the monument.
Arguably, the most important aspect of creating a monument is the worthiness of the person or event in consideration of becoming a monument. While it is hypothetically possible to create a monument to anything, some of the nation’s greatest monuments, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, 9/11 Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial, were created because the subjects were carefully vetted and deemed worthy. It is hard to find a citizen of the United States that feels the 9/11 attacks do not deserve a memorial, however, there are many monuments today that are up for debate, and most likely should’ve had more consideration of the subject before they were erected. Recent
The Statue of Liberty has a poem written by Emma Lazarus at its foundation containing a few lines, “Give me your tired, your poor,/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,/The wretched refuse of your teeming shore./Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,/I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” It was put there as a message of hope for the immigrants looking for a new life in America, making their way in the world. The system that America has for welcoming immigrants into this land does exactly that: welcomes them, gives them a home, along with refuge. There should not be stricter immigration laws because immigration is an ideal way of producing and portraying opportunity, safety, and diversity.
There are many monuments in the world and they are all built to honor someone or something that was done by that person. For example, after the Maine Lobsterman was built, the fake bronze statue returned to Maine and spent several decades being moved from city hall to museum to museum. No one seemed to want the man and his lobster. The issue at hand is if the monuments being built are memorializing the person or moment created accurately. Monuments capture legacy and preserve the individual's actions throughout history. Specifically, monuments should consider purpose, location, and size in their creation.
From Trajan’s Column, completed in 113 AD, to the statue of Christopher Columbus in Easton, Pennsylvania, monuments and memorials have been a significant element of celebration and honor throughout history (Source B). Though monuments are typically meant as a symbol of honor, recent controversy over statues dedicated to Confederate leaders and generals has sparked the debate over how to choose subjects to memorialize, and the actual development of these memorials. When considering what or who to honor, one must also consider the subjects impact on history, ensuring that it is positive. In creating memorials and monuments, groups and agencies should examine the historical significance of the events or persons they wish to memorialize, and the
Mount Rushmore, the Mall at Washington, and the Statue of Liberty are all monuments across the US. The location of these monuments is important and when one is going to build a monument the location matters. Monuments, as stated in Source A, are not necessarily built at the place of what it is memorializing, “typically it holds no relic or spiritual of a past presence.”
Monuments, are how we as people can relive the past and be able to put ourselves at that time period. For Americans the 9/11 memorial puts us in the gravity and it gives us the impact of what that disaster did but, it also shows a sense of beauty with how the water falls into the spot where once stood a tall and powerful building. Monuments, have the aura that has a sense of empathy and shows more emotion than words ever could, the Holocaust museum gives a solid reminder of what genocide really is. Monuments and memorials should be based on the size location and what it is actually standing for it should be for someone who has been influential or it should be something of war or tragedy. We as Americans don’t pay attention to local cemeteries but when they see the Arlington cemetery or Vietnam memorial or even the WWII memorial people understand what death is really like and are more appreciative of those people who fought for the United States. Monuments and Memorials are not to remember those who fought for slavery, who have committed genocide, or any acts of treason and terrorism there should be no reason to make a statue that symbolizes something that a culture and a nation does not stand for anymore. Therefore, a Monument should consider the location, size, and why the monument is built along with the emotional aura that goes along with it.
The monument that stand in my hometown is the soldiers and sailor monuments as tribute to the men in the Civil War from Athens, Ohio. The monument was built in 1963 for the 2,610 men who served for the Union from Athens County. The men went into battle for the defense of the Union. A lot of these men served in the 18th Ohio infantry. The veterans of the Civil War along with resident General Grosvenor set out to find funding for the monument. There were a lot of troubles in the beginning. The monument had failed to be erected previously because of placement issues. Where the monument stand now is in middle of Ohio University, and one of the question that arises when finding a proper place for the monument was is the University capable of maintaining this monument and whether or not it was a good location. Grosvenor led other residents from Athens to create the Athens Monument Association to fund the monument. And so the monument was then erected in 1963.
In 1861 there was a war that turned north against south family against family. After their war the created monuments that represent the brave leaders that fought for what the believe in. Now there is controversy over if the monuments should be destroyed. This has created a titanic fight between tow sides one side is for the monuments being destroyed and the other side dose not want it to be destroyed. I believe that the monuments should not be destroyed. I believe they should not be destroyed because we need to remember our history. Finally is that it will not stop the violence.
A monument is an solid, carved in statue that is an representation of a person or event that has made an remarkable time in the past. However, there are many different ways to remember a person or event. Memorializing an person or event is a great way to preserve history; because everyone agrees to enormous expensive statue is more entertaining than reading a boring textbook about the person or event. As a matter of fact, every person in American can not remember every person or event in history because there isn’t enough time and space for that. Therefore, a group or agency should consider the three main factors, size, location, and materials when planning or creating an memorial monument of an important person or event.
Is a good monument or memorial all about looks, or is it about the contextual meaning behind it. A monument’s size, location, materials and more are all considerations when planning and creating a memorial to the past. The audience of a monument/memorial site is not as important as it’s location and funding.
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
The controversy about the race of the Statue of Liberty has been a a ongoing battle for years. Some people think that the statue was modeled after a caucasian woman , some people think she was modeled after a African American woman. After years of weathering and aging the statue has turned to a beautiful green color from is orginal copper color. The statue has several aspect that makes me think that she was modeled after a african American woman. The statue of liberty has chains at her feet, she was original brown, and she was giving to us from france.
Monuments are sometimes thing we may just walk past by or even sometimes they are major tourist attractions. While many people may visit because of the popularity others may visit for it’s significance. America is a country with people that originate from many other countries. The diversity makes it hard for people or companies to try and appeal to everybody. Many groups or agencies would like to create monuments to either promote or to leave their mark on the world.
There are few objects that can be compared to the significance of the figure known as the Statue of Liberty. It is one of the greatest works of its time and still stands today as a meaningful entity of independence to the world. The statue is a great tribute to the concept of global freedom that had its roots in America. It was created to display the worldwide objective of peace and tranquility. The fact that another model of this icon stands today in a world capital shows the effect that this figure has inscribed upon the world. In addition, it represents the ideas that the United States was built upon and those that the people have lived by to this very day. Its most paramount features in its role through American history are its
Monuments are used to memorialize and honor moments, individuals and events of the past. Some monuments do this better than other monuments. In creating a monument there are three essential factors a group or agency should consider to make the monument as effective as possible: location, design features, purpose and backstory. Why these factors? Location and design factors play a massive role in the reception the monument will receive, based on its environment, size and looks a monument will be perceived differently. The purpose and backstory are the two single most important factors to consider in creating a monument. The monuments history, its reason, is the reason just? Is the purpose proper? Does it accurately memorialize the subject? All these questions come with the purpose and backstory of a monument.