Stonehenge and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are both places created for some human purpose. They both are important pieces of history, one literally and the other symbolically. They were and are places of gathering. Both are done on momentous scale.
Stonehenge is an amazing marvel of the Stone Age located in the south of England. It consists of circles of megaliths, which are very large stones, and ditches. It is unknown as to how such a work was created so many years ago. The megaliths, weighing around 50 tons, were transported and carved into what you see today, save weather erosion and vandalism. Many theories exist as to why it was created. Some believe it is a calendar of sorts, while others seem to agree it was a place of public gathering for rituals and ceremonies. However created and whatever the purpose, it is one of the places where art begins.
Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial is an obtuse angle of black granite with the names of thousands of Vietnam War Veterans inscribed upon it. The two walls cut into the earth and point in the directions on the Washington monument and the Lincoln Memorial. It too is a place of gathering, but much more is understood about its purpose and construction. Details from the gradual assent and descent of the pathway to the reflective surface of the granite all have meaning and further contribute to the overall effect of the memorial.
No comments:
Post a Comment