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| The Democratic Monument in America | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
October 23- November 24, 2000
At the turn of the twentieth century, the monument
represented the highest form of expression, achieved within a classical
schema that conceived of architecture as a permanent symbol of human
kind’s ability to master the aleatory forces of nature. The
developing critique of the monument’s staid reflection of the
of the status quo, along with the predilection for overly monumental
forms of architecture shown by facist and authoritarian governments,
brought the status of the monument, and the strategies for monument
making, into crisis.
How has the monument changed to address the aspirations of modern
democratic societies? Despite positivist attempt to cast the monument
as a useless expression of nostalgia and the evaporation of the social
ground upon which the monument stood in more autocratic times, a strong
belief in the value of honoring, preserving, or recasting various
histories has persisted in the United States.
Organized as a timeline, this exhibition presents a monument and a
monumental trail from each decade of the twentieth century. The monumental
trails challenge the artifact-based notion of the monument as a singular
identity.
This exhibition was curated by Richard M. Sommer, Associate Professor
of Architecture and Urban Design in collaboration with Natalie Fizer
and Glenn Forley of Fizer/Forley Design, NYC.