'Une fleur que ses yeux éteints ne peuvent plus contempler': women's sculpture for the dead

From the moment that women sculptors emerged, they have been creating sculptures for the dead, in multiple forms. Many of them specialized in the art of portraying, which was in high demand for wax figures, statues and funeral monuments. The fact that those, along with war memorials, often played on the area of emotions –which was traditionally viewed as ‘female’– apparently made the choice for a woman sculptor even more acceptable. The commissions for funeral monuments and war memorials more often came through unofficial rather than official channels, creating better opportunities for female artists

'Commemorating a Disputed Past: Football Club and Supporters' Group War Memorials in the Former Yugoslavia

This article documents the existence of numerous football-related war memorials throughout the former Yugoslavia. Utilizing photographic evidence of these monuments, plaques and other methods of memorialization, it illuminates the ways in which those involved in the game have written the deeds of their fallen members into the historical record, often harnessing these sacrifices in the service of a variety of political causes in the process. These commemorative gestures include socialist patriotic memorials erected in the aftermath of the Second World War Partisan victory, as well as monuments and murals created in honour of football supporters who went into battle as paramilitaries and members of incipient national armies during the dissolution wars of the 1990s. It is argued that the deeds of the fallen have been elevated, and at times manipulated, while the creativity of the latest wave of football remembrance is arguably heavily influenced by the traditional epic poetry and mythologized histories of the region. The fact that these disparate memorials have survived from various historical periods means that the region's built environment offers problematic and conflicting accounts of Yugoslav football's violent past. Memorials which honour impossibly pure socialist heroes coexist awkwardly alongside those dedicated to supporters who gave their lives in pursuit of ethnically exclusive states. In the case of one desecrated monument, these distinct periods are somewhat paradoxically remembered by the same symbolic object

Remembering Vietnam War Veterans: Interpreting History Through New Orleans Monuments and Memorials

ABSTRACT This thesis is concerned with the question of how America’s citizen soldiers are remembered and how their services can be interpreted through monuments and memorials. The paper discusses the concept of memory and the functions of memorialization. It explores whether and how monuments and memorials portray the difficulties, hardships, horror, costs, and consequences of armed combat. The political motivations behind the design, formation and establishment of the edifices are also probed. The paper considers the Vietnam War monuments and memorials erected by Americans and Vietnam expatriates in New Orleans, Louisiana, and examines their illustrative and educational usefulness. Results reflect that although political benefits accrued from the realization of the memorial structures in question, far more important, palliative and meaningful motives brought about their construction. They also demonstrate that, when understood, monuments and memorials can be historically useful

The lost ideology-Socialist Monuments in Bosnia

Memory, individual or collective, is not only closely related to socio-political phenomena, but also to socio-cultural such as architecture and art. As trans-generational witnesses to historical turmoil, still stand the monuments and memorials to the NOB (national liberation struggle). In former Yugoslavia between 1950's and early 1980's many monuments and memorial complexes were built to commemorate the great heroic battles against fascists or massacres over Yugoslavian innocent population. Several of them are on the territory of today's Bosnia-Herzegovina. These memorials were designed with great passion and respect to the fallen victims by the most prominent Yugoslavian architects and sculptors. Each of these monuments is a unique sculptural masterpiece, with its size, form and volume on the border of becoming architecture. As a pride of the social heritage, generations of children, students and proletariat, until 1990's would visit and pay their respect to the fallen victims of the past in hope for better future. All the ideals these monuments used to stand for are forgotten and those remarkable structures now represent unpleasant cultural and architectural heritage with which the post war society is trying to establish relationship. Unfortunately very often these monuments are left to decay. After dissolution of Yugoslavia and aggression against Bosnia 1992-1995 Partisans' battles were forgotten. Memorials and monuments for recent victims had to be built. In this paper we want to focus on how today's society deals with inherited socialist monuments and what kind of memorials have been built in the last 15 years for the victims of the 1992-95 liberation war in Bosnia

Communication: Memorials: An Exhibit for the Communication Technology behind a range of Memorials

When memorials and monuments are visited, they are often viewed as a place to reflect or pay respects. What is likely often overlooked are the messages behind these memorials, intentionally molded into memorials by their designers. This exhibit highlights 11 memorials and monuments worldwide and showcases how they communicate complex messages through unconventional means. It encourages visitors to consider the thought that went into designing the memorial and offers a different perspective on how a message can be conveyed without the use of printed text. The included curatorial statement speaks more to these points

Mort pour la France: conflict and commemoration in France after the First World War

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Memorialization and nation-building: Shifts in historical framing in monuments constructed in Kyiv, Ukraine between Soviet control and independence

It is easy to take monuments to historical events at face value. However, in observing monuments and memorials, it is possible to learn about how those in power utilize this medium to distribute intentional historical narratives to the public. In looking at monuments constructed in Kyiv, Ukraine, this can be seen in different historical monuments that have been erected across the city. Between Soviet control and Ukrainian independence since 1991, the manner in which history is framed in memorials has fundamentally shifted. Given the context of heightened tensions between the two countries in recent years, culminating in the invasion of Ukraine by its Russian neighbor in April 2022, observing memorialization trends can be useful in understanding the past and present relationship between these two states. Within these memorials lies a greater struggle for cultural identity, nation-building, and historical narrative creation

A History of the Monuments & Memorials in the Wesley Bolin Plaza at the Arizona State Capitol

abstract: ABSTRACT The Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza is located across the street from the state capitol building in Phoenix, Arizona. Here, pieces of Arizona’s history are commemorated through monuments and memorials. Monuments and memorials reflect how people have conceived their collective identity, especially when those choices are made in public spaces. The markers in the Wesley Bolin Plaza reflect the changing identity of Arizonans, both locally and in connection to national identity. Over time, they have become crucial to shaping the landscape and the historical memory of the city, state, or country. Of note, the memorials on the Arizona State Capitol grounds are unique in how they are placed all together in a park directly across the street. In 1976, the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza emerged through a conversation with broader currents in the region’s and nation’s history. Over time, the plaza has become a sacred space because so many of its memorials include relics and artifacts, or list the names of those who have lost their lives in their service to Arizona. In these ways the plaza became a landscape of memory where visitors come to remember and honor those people and parts of Arizona history. The memorial plaza also influences Arizonans’ knowledge of history. It engenders a local as well as a national loyalty and identity in its citizens and visitors. By researching the history of several of the prominent monuments and memorials in the plaza, I discovered a rich history and an intriguing story behind each one that is built. Most monuments and memorials are commemorating complex events or people in history, yet have only short inscriptions on them. As a result, much of the historical narrative, complexities, and symbolism can be lost. My purpose is to tell the story of the plaza, these memorials, and their history; highlighting their significance to Arizonans and explaining how the monuments and memorials fit into the larger story of historical commemoration.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis History 201

Death and memory on the Home Front: Second World War commemoration in the South Hams, Devon

This is the publisher's PDF of an article published in Cambridge archaeological journal© 2010. The definitive version is available at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=CAJThis article discusses two World War II monuments - the Slapton Sands Evacuation Memorial and the Torcross Tank Memorial - as commemorations of events and as a method of defining the identities of local people

Noble Sacrifice or Meaningless Death? Interpreting the 116th PA Monument

Any visitor to the Gettysburg battlefield will no doubt be almost overwhelmed with the numbers of monuments and memorials to various Union and Confederate units strewn about the field. Sculpted soldiers with sabers, rifles, even fists raised in defiance of the enemy, ever charging forward into the heat of battle are commonplace. In the case of most Union monuments, a culture of just victory and celebration of noble sacrifice emanates from gray stones and bronze figures. One monument, however, tucked along Sickles Avenue in the Rose Woods, portrays a different message. The monument of the 116th Pennsylvania, erected by regimental survivors in 1888, is the only monument at Gettysburg that depicts a dead soldier. While other monuments, such as the Freemason monument at the Soldier’s National Cemetery, the Louisiana state monument, and the Mississippi state monument depict wounded soldiers, these monuments are accompanied by themes of fraternity and noble sacrifice as the focal point rather than the fallen soldier himself. [excerpt