Art and the Embodiment of Memory
Alisha K, Zixiao L, Avery M, & Hemraj P.
General Characteristics of WWI Memorials
- Erect memorials as a way of addressing the loss and trauma of WWI
- Most memorials in the countries that suffered the most severe losses (France, England)
- More restrained in the US than in Europe
- Prior to WWI, France built many memorials to commemorate the Franco-Prussian War
- WWI sparked widespread desire to build memorials due to death toll and loss
- Fervor continued until WWII
Types of Memorials
Public vs Private
- Private memorials: small displays, photos, letters, medals
- Public memorials erected at sites that could be accessed by anyone; large crowds
- Market places, traffic islands, churchyards, street corner, cemeteries, former battlefields
Utilitarian vs Non-Utilitarian
Utilitarian
- also called living memorials
- serve obvious functions in addition to memorializing
- Ex: parks, hospitals, museums
- These memorials also include ornamental sculptures or plaques
Non-Utilitarian
- serves no concrete purpose beyond acting as a memorial
- Ex: arches, sculptures, monuments
Lists, Unknown Tombs & Cenotaphs
- Some memorials include long lists of names and titles of those who served
- these lists served to capture the magnitude of the war
- Others were marked "unknown"
- Unknown tombs became common after WWI
- Ex: Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery, Virginia
- Cenotaph monuments are empty tombs that represent the many whose remains were never found
- Ex: Cenotaph in Whitehall, London
Tomb of Unknowns in Arlington Cemetery, Virginia
Cenotaph in Whitehall, London
Egyptian Cenotaph
Memorials at Work
Visiting Memorials
- memorials depending on location can be visited with or without attention
- people intentionally visit memorial on special occasions such as Veteran's Day
- Veteran's Day or Armistice Day in Europe occurs at the same day as the end of WWI, November 11
- on such days people...
- leave flowers
- touch or kiss the monument
- make stone rubbings
Politicization
- some memorials serve to recognize a marginalized group
- memorials in Italy and Germany are strongly nationalistic and interpret WWI as favorable to the rise of Fascism
- in order to level social class and race, names are listed without identifying rank or class in military
- memorials can be sites for pacifist protests
Architectural Design
Influences
- WWI memorial architecture tends to be conservative in order to appeal to wide audiences
- Draw on Greek,Roman, Renaissance and Egyptian architecture
-Egypt esp was influential in creation of tomb forms
- Some memorials used Art Deco rather than Classical style in order to appear more modern
References to Christianity
- Medieval designs allowed for references to Christianity in England and France
- Allegorical figures (Justice, Valor, Liberty) were used in public memorials to allow for universal interpretation
- Crosses were especially prevalent in European Christian imagery
- France had Pieta which shows Virgin Mary with the dead body of Christ
- America had problems with Christian images
Patronage
Methods of Covering Expenses
- memorials cost a lot of money
- significant memorials would hold competitions between architects
- expenses include those for the architect and maintenence
- public funds were sometimes used to fund the building of memorials
- Ex: British War Memorials Commission and Imperial War Graves Commission were in charge of commission and maintenance
- France had strong institutional support for its war memorials
- Churches also provided money
Charitable Contributions
- Individuals pay subscriptions so that residents become patrons of memorials
- board of directors takes on job of erecting memorial
- source of funding helps to understand motivations for work and intended audience