All throughout human history, memorials have played important roles. Memorating important people, events, catastrophes and victories, memorials have been created to look back at these events. To the plain eye, these memorials are just metal and stone engravings on different landscapes, but rather stories and shared emotion and memory. These stone watchmen stand to tell its passerbyers and visitors the tales of the past, tales of tragedies and the commemoration of victories. A memorial can be deemed a success when it can reflect historical and emotional significance of the people or events it honors, when it can inspire and reflect cultural values, and be able to withstand the test of time and have a long-lasting impact on public memory and identity.
For a memorial to be deemed as successful, one aspect that needs to be strong is its ability to contextualize the event or the individual it commemorates. A memorial needs to serve as a bridge in which past events and an overall contemporary understanding are connected at the center. This allows for often integrating complex historical ideas into a relevant and emotional whole. “Monuments and memorials can reflect values, important stories, and power, and they serve as reminders that history is not just in books, but all around us” (Black, ¶2). One prominent example of this can be seen through the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Its seemingly simple yet effective design includes a black granite wall bearing the names of those whose lives were taken in the war, encouraging reflection on the high price of war rather than glorifying it.
Equally important is a memorial’s role in reflecting cultural values and perspectives of its given time period. A successful memorial should resonate with the societal ethos, either by including shared values or challenging prevailing narratives. For example, the 9/11 Memorial in New York City which memorializes the tragic events of September 11, 2001, stands as a testament to resilience in the face of terrorism and united America. NYU professor Marita Sturken explains that “memorialization has been a nationally affirming enterprise, providing comforting narratives of national unity whose coherence nonetheless required the exclusion of many aspects of the event. With memorials being built well into the 2010s, it seemed increasingly that the surfeit of 9/11 memory was not about 9/11, or even those who died that day. Rather it reflected a desire to return to that post-9/11 moment of national unity, in which, however falsely, the nation seemed to speak with one voice: we are Americans” (Sturken, ¶3). Sturken explains a critical perspective on the role of the 9/11 Memorial in shaping national memory and identity. It illustrated how the memorialization of 9/11, while serving as a symbol of unity, also involves the selective narration of events, which may exclude certain aspects to create a united national identity. The reflecting pools, set within the footprints of the original Twin Towers, symbolize both loss and the unyielding spirit of recovery.
In addition, a memorials design also plays a significant role in determining the emotional impact a memorial can inflict on people. A well designed, successful memorial should invoke a wide range of emotion, from pride and inspiration all the way to sorrow and empathy. The Holocaust Memorial in Berlin, designed by architect Peter Eisenman for instance, uses a grid-like array of concrete slabs which creates an unsettling, maze-like appearance, which allowed its audience to understand the disorientation and oppression that those during the Holocaust faced. Michael Arad, the architect behind the 9/11 memorial emphasized his emotional journey in regards to the memorial’s design. He envisioned capturing the feelings of the attack and the aftermath, which pushed him to incorporate water as his central element. He envisioned “two voids tearing open a surface of water” to represent a “sense of rupture and continued absence” (Gonzalez, ¶6). With his design ditching more traditional symbols like statues, it allows for the people viewing the memorial to have a personal reflection and an emotional response, which allows for the memorial to be more intimate with its audience.
Beyond evoking emotions, successful memorials also offer a space for reflection and education. They should encourage visitors to contemplate not just the past, but also its relevance to the present and future. The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa, serves as an exemplary model. More than a static monument, it is an interactive journey through the era of apartheid, combining visual and textual elements to educate visitors about the racial segregation and oppression that plagued South Africa. This educative aspect ensures that the memorial not only honors the past but also informs and shapes future generations.
Adding on, a successful memorial also needs to offer a space for reflection and education. A successful memorial should encourage its visitors to reflect on the past, but also think about the present day and a nearing future. An example of this can be seen in The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South Africa. The museum serves as a commendable example. The Museum is more than a simple monument, but an interactive journey through the era of Apartheid as it uses both visual and textual elements to educate its visitors about the racial segregation and oppression that occured in South Africa in the 20th century. The Apartheid Museum gives an educative aspect in its memorial, which not only gives in-site information about the horrific events that occurred in the past, but also educates and informs the future generations, shaping them and showing the evils of apartheid.
In addition, for a memorial to be successful, it must be able to stand the test of time and continue to connect with the future generations. This can be seen with the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., as decades after its construction, it still remains an important symbol of America and its ideals of freedom and equality. Its neoclassical design is iconic and its commanding statue of Abraham Lincoln is a timeless piece of American history, which still continues to inspire and attract visitors from around the country, as well as the world.
Finally, a successful memorial contributes significantly to the collective memory and identity of a society. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., is a touching example. The memorial’s features a central sculpture of Dr. King, emerging from a ‘Stone of Hope,’ which powerfully symbolizes his contributions to the civil rights movement and for colored people during a Jim Crow Era of America. It not only commemorates King’s legacy but also serves as an important point for ongoing struggles for social justice, implanting his ideals firmly in the public consciousness. Similarly, American designer and sculptor Maya Lin explains in the case of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that “the use of names was a way to bring back everything someone could remember about a person . . . the ability of a name to bring back every single memory you have of that person is far more realistic and specific and much more comprehensive than a still photograph” (Lin 3). The unique and simple design emphasizes the power of personalization in memorials, illustrating how incorporating individual names can evoke more profound and personal memories, contributing significantly to the collective memory of an event.
All in all, memorials are, and will always be an important aspect highlighting different eras in human history. They are more than just physical designs, but striking pieces of art that should be able to convey historical and emotional depths, provide a reflective and educational experience to its audience, and be able to sustain relevance and impact over time. Although there are various forms and shapes of memorials, successful memorials should be able to bridge the gap between past and the present, allowing individual memories into a shared and collective narrative that shapes our collective identity.
Work Cited
Black, Kaleena. “History in Our Backyards: Monuments and Memorials” 30 June 2021
https://blogs.loc.gov/families/2021/07/history-in-our-backyards-monuments-and-memorials/
Sturken, Marita. “9/11’s Memorials and the Politics of Historical Memory” 12 Sept. 2021 https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/181236
Gonzalez, Susan. “Architect for 9/11 memorial tells the story of its creation” 28 Nov. 2012
https://news.yale.edu/2012/11/28/architect-911-memorial-tells-story-its-creation
Lin, Maya. “Making the Memorial.” Nybooks.com. The New York Review of Books, 2 Nov. 2000. Web. 30 Nov. 2011.
yes i agree it is more than meets the eye,.