“A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical, political, technical or architectural importance.
The origin of the word "monument" comes from the Greek mnemosynon and the Latin moneo, monere, which means 'to remind', 'to advise' or 'to warn', suggesting a monument allows us to see the past thus helping us visualize what is to come in the future. In English the word "monumental" is often used in reference to something of extraordinary size and power, as in monumental sculpture, but also to mean simply anything made to commemorate the dead, as a funerary monument or other example of funerary art.
Wikipedia, Monument [on line] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument#:~:text=9%20External%20links-,Etymology,to%20come%20in%20the%20future. (Accessed 28.04.2022)
This concludes my quotations.
So what, after all, is the essence of such a genre as "monument"? To answer this question I need to trace the evolution of this type of art since the beginning of time.
Here and further, I deliberately want to avoid using the popular ancient monumental buildings of the Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge and the Mayan Pyramids and so on, because, in fact, the essence of such monuments will somehow overlap in meaning with the other less known ones.
That is to say, after a man painted on the walls of the caves (for example, Chauvet Cave, c30,000 BCE),
Wikipedia, Chauvet Cave [on line] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvet_Cave#/media/File:20,000_Year_Old_Cave_Paintings_Hyena.png (Accessed 05.05.2022)
and figured out how to work with materials (for example, Venus of Willendorf c25,000 BCE),
Wikipedia, Chauvet Cave [on line] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvet_Cave#/media/File:20,000_Year_Old_Cave_Paintings_Hyena.png (Accessed 05.05.2022)
the search for the explanation of things in life began.
Only in this way can I explain the desire of man in the construction of numerous monuments that did not serve as protection from the weather and security.
Let's look at an example, a hunter goes on an attack on a mule and misses it, the animal runs away safe and sound. And so it goes on for weeks. So all family members in deep hunger are already asking why such an injustice, why before that it was possible to quickly kill an animal, but now not? Human logic is looking for an excuse for this. At this stage of development, a man still does not understand that there was no rain for a long time, therefore the rivers dried up, and therefore all living creatures left this halo of habitat. And even if he guessed, how to influence the rain? And this hungry man is thinking but to make a sacrifice from a human child, well, or not so bloody, for example, make a generous gift of fruits, then this can help. And by chance (real explanation is - just while they were praying the dry season was over), this method helped, and now the whole tribe eats fresh mule meat.
This illustration is very figurative, in fact, there were troubles or events that the ancient man wanted to change or influence them. This is how buildings and other monumental objects were born in which rituals were most often performed, or which were called upon to glorify a god or goddess.
One such example of a monumental structure is the oldest ruins of Göbekli Tepe c. 9500 and 8000 BCE. Archaeologists have found a huge number of sculptures of male animals, as well as their bones. According to scientists, this may indicate the ritual nature of the original building, since there is a connection between male power and the killing of animals for food. In other words, a man built a place where he would perform a ritual, say, for a successful hunt or for the birth of a banana tree.
Wikipedia, Göbekli Tepe [on line] At: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe#/media/File:G%C3%B6beklitepe_%C5%9Eanl%C4%B1urfa.jpg (Accessed 05.05.2022)
Wikipedia, Göbekli Tepe. Pillar 27, Enclosure C: predator (possibly a felid) in high relief, hunting prey in low relief [on line] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6bekli_Tepe#/media/File:G%C3%B6beklitepe_Building_C_sept_2019_5373crop.jpg (Accessed 05.05.2022)
Or here is another example, which is considered the very first monumental architecture.
The Tower of Jericho 8000 BCE found in the ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan is one of the oldest towns in the world (10,000 BCE) found in modern Palestine. UNESCO, Ancient Jericho/ Tell es-Sultan [on line] https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6545/(Accessed 05.05.2022)
I think this is a good example of a "monumental building" from history when the purpose of this tower is not proven so that we can imaging and draw parallels with more studied monuments.
The fact is that some scientists believe that the building was purely defensive in nature. Fear and the need for protection from other men is another reason for the construction of a monumental structure. A more obvious and famous example of protection from another person is the Great Wall of China.
madain project. Tower of Jericho [on line] https://madainproject.com/tower_of_jericho#gallery-3 (Accessed 11.05.2022)
Other scholars believe that such tall buildings were needed to protect against floods. This again indicates to us the possibility of erecting a building that would be in line with the forces of nature, protect from them or stimulate them.
Excavated ruins of the ancient city of Old Jericho, by Steve Frame, ESRA-MAGAZINE, The Round Stone Tower Of Jericho, by Carl Hoffman Category: Israel Issue No. 153 [on line] https://web.archive.org/web/20161126130326/http://www.esra-magazine.com/blog/post/the-round-stone-tower-of-jericho (Accessed 05.05.2022)
A modern example of such work is Robert Smithson, Spiral Jetty in 2004, Rozel Point, Great Salt Lake, Utah. But in the modern world, we are deprived of the pragmatic need for simple protection (although dams can also be monumental works of art). We are rather trying to hint at something, bring awareness or raise a question by bringing up the dual nature of things, as Robert Simpson did.
What’s more the most interesting version of the construction of such a monumental tower in 8000 BCE seems to me the version of building in relation to cosmology.
“Their (the researchers Roy Liran and Ran Barkai) reconstruction revealed that, as the solstice sun set, the shadow of a hill to the west fell exactly on the Jericho tower before covering the village, suggesting the monument and the start of longer nights were linked.” writes in LiveScience Wynne Parry. Tower of Power: Mystery of Ancient Jericho Monument Revealed By Wynne Parry published February 18, 2011 [on line] https://www.livescience.com/12918-tower-jericho-hunter-gatherer-monument.html (Accessed 05.05.2022)
Thus, although not completely proven, we can assume that already in those ancient times monumental structures were built not only taking into account geolocation but also the position of the sun or stars (for example, the Orion correlation theory).
Wikipedia, Pantheon Roma [on line] https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Пантеон_(Рим)#/media/Файл:Lampo_di_luce_al_Pantheon.jpg (Accessed 05.05.2022)
Likewise, one of the most striking examples of the use of cosmology was the Pantheon. Where a hole in the roof, called Okulos, emphasized the interconnection of all the gods, including Apollo (the god of light) through the stream of light penetrating the building.
In modern realities, such a relationship of cosmology is embodied in bindings, for example, to memory. The incredible Transportation Hub designed by architect Santiago Calatrava is endowed with both functionality and commemoration of the victims of 9/11 in New York.
«Every September 11th at 10:28 AM—the time when the second tower collapsed— the sunlight shines through the skylight and illuminates the central axis of the main hall. “The sunlight goes through the center and this ‘Way of Light' aligns with the longitudinal axis of the Oculus, signifying the end of 9/11 tragedy and the beginning of the reconstruction,” Calatrava says. “This particular alignment of the sunlight is possible because the building has been designed slightly tilted in relation to the surrounding Manhattan grid.”» My Modern Met.The Oculus: An Exclusive Look at New York City’s Transportation Hub and Touching 9/11 Tribute By Kelly Richman-Abdou on July 2, 2019 [on line] https://mymodernmet.com/the-oculus-santiago-calatrava/ (Accessed 05.05.2022)
My Modern Met.The Oculus: An Exclusive Look at New York City’s Transportation Hub and Touching 9/11 Tribute By Kelly Richman-Abdou on July 2, 2019 [on line] https://mymodernmet.com/the-oculus-santiago-calatrava/ (Accessed 05.05.2022)
It turns out that the ideas of the connection of everything earthly with sunlight, the moon or the stars have not changed much. The events with which this light is associated, the material from which memorials are built and designed have changed.
In conclusion with the example of an ancient monument from Palestine, one important thing should be noted. Everything created once changes its meaning in the present moment. This can be illustrated, for example, by the famous Pyramids at Giza. This monumental grave was created to protect the relics of the deceased and accompany him with precious jewellery and other important objects safely to the world of the dead. And what are these pyramids for us now? This is a tourist site. Monument of history. But now, we are looking at these structures through the knowledge that man descended from a monkey and most likely there is no afterlife. Therefore, the original meaning of even such a monumental scale has categorically changed in our reality.
Moving further on the study of the types and possible forms of the monument, it is worth noting such a type of monument as a tomb. For example, the Tomb of Cyrus in Iran 530 BCE.
Tomb of Cyrus [on line] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Cyrus#/media/File:Pasargad_Tomb_Cyrus3.jpg (Accessed 05.05.2022)
The task of this type of memorial is to exalt and preserve the memory of a famous and important person in history.
What has changed over time? One thing is for sure - it is always a new deceased person.
Wikipedia. Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow [on line] https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Мавзолей#/media/Файл:Mauzoleumlenina_(cropped).jpeg (Accessed 05.05.2022)
But now it is just as clear that the erection of such tombs proclaims what this person preached, the system, political views and beliefs. (Why embalm at all? This is some kind of vandalism over the human being!)
Later we created a new type of monument indicating what exactly we should remember about a particular man.
MLK Memorial freetoursbyfoot 25 Washington DC Monuments [on line] https://freetoursbyfoot.com/washington-dc-monuments/ (Accessed 05.05.2022)
Here, through material, composition, and form, the artist seeks to convey what was important to remember about this person for history. For Martin Luther King, it was an incredible firmness and conviction in his rightness, in the purity of his thoughts, which is transmitted through a huge light stone. And not the completeness of the statue refers to the unfinishedness of his life because he was assassinated early.
Albert Einstein Memorial Washington DC [on line] https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stltoday.com%2Ftravel%2Fvisit-some-of-washingtons-lesser-known-monuments%2Farticle_1bf5e38f-fc55-58ec-9a0a-fb4a7f6d0509.html&psig=AOvVaw0ePfQacUA_7kVmVXtwChfO&ust=1651852475441000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCLj6jZPcyPcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABBF (Accessed 05.05.2022)
Einstein is the greatest scientist who was a little non-standard, which, it seems to me, is successfully conveyed through such work with clay and then in bronze is conveyed the monumentality and importance of this man for the history. Although I'm not sure that this is a good monument, somehow everything is conveyed primitively. Here is a big and important person, and we see the monument many times bigger than a living person. Strange pose... and he's kind of clumsy... I don't know, something is wrong with this sculpture.
Another idea embodied in the form of a monument is worth reflecting on - this is the memory of a significant event. And there are numerous examples and variations on the theme.
The Column of Marcus Aurelius (Latin: Columna Centenaria Divorum Marci et Faustinae, Italian: Colonna di Marco Aurelio) is a Roman victory column in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. [on line] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Column_of_Marcus_Aurelius#/media/File:La_Colonna_di_Marco_Aurelio_(5966172297).jpg (Accessed 10.05.2022)
This type of monument as a column appeared in the ancient world. The free-standing column came from the column supporting the roof. Not taking into account its constructive task, symbolically the column looked like a tree or a phallus. In history, there are a huge number of varieties of obelisks from gnomons (solar symbols) to caryatids (not free-standing but still monumental purpose). Sometimes a statue was placed on the top of the column, thus it towered over ordinary life symbolically exalting its own significance.
Gateway Arch [on line] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Arch#/media/File:St_Louis_night_expblend_cropped.jpg (Accessed 10.05.2022)
The arches and the Triumphal Gates were designed to purify the invaders from the bloody battle. When passing through such an arch, the soldiers, as were cleansed at the entrance to the city. Also, the arched type of structures was used to denote victory, as if symbolically indicating the solemn entry into the new world.
In modern realities, the shape of the monument can have absolutely any shape. For example, the Memorial to 9 girls who died in an accident, was designed by the Chilean architect Gonzalo Mardones Viviani.
M9 Memorial, Gonzalo Mardones V Arquitectos 2011 [on line] https://www.archdaily.com/127198/m9-memorial-gonzalo-mardones-viviani (Accessed 10.05.2022)
“The Manquehue hill is the backdrop that contrasts with the sky. The evocation of nature reaches the relief of a sacred place. The superposition of the inner circle in front of the geometry of the ramp that descends makes clear the connection between the spirit and human reincarnation. Between the sacred - divine and reason. The work takes primary forms which are easily recognizable. Should be left to attract curiosity and fall within the oratory ‘Virgen del Parque’.” M9 Memorial, Gonzalo Mardones V Arquitectos 2011 [on line] https://www.archdaily.com/127198/m9-memorial-gonzalo-mardones-viviani (Accessed 10.05.2022)
Thus, the modern form of memory in the current project combined the underworld, religion, cosmology, nature in the form of a magnolia tree and to a large extent symbolism.
The modern approach to the construction of memorials also takes into account modern technologies. So the memorial to the crash of the plane after an in-flight explosion caused by a suitcase bomb over the Sahara can be seen on Google map. This approach, in my opinion, allows both to attract the attention of additional "spectators" and to keep a hard-to-reach place in memory.
Retour En Images Sur Le Mémorial Des Victimes Du Dc10 D’uta Au Niger – 29 Novembre 2013 [on line] https://www.afvt.org/le-memorial-du-dc10-duta-dans-le-tenere/ (Accessed 10.05.2022)
And of course, it is worth noting that monuments are no longer only in the physical world, now they exist in the digital world as well.
“in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the stonewall uprising, Google has launched a new augmented reality interactive monument which brings users to Christopher street park, in front of the stonewall inn, in new york.” google celebrates pride with giant digital monument commemorating stonewall [on line] https://www.designboom.com/technology/google-stonewall-living-digital-monument-pride-06-05-2019/ (Accessed 10.05.2022)
With the use of a mobile phone, everyone can see this colourful structure and travel around it. This is a new feeling of a monument that everyone can become a part of. On the official website https://stonewallforever.org/ , you can register and tell your story.
In my opinion, there is a limit to how many people and how they can experience this monument (not everyone can use so good their Smartphone), but how they experience it certainly involves much more in the problem.
Summing up my analysis, I can conclude that the reasons for the creation of monuments over the past millennia have not changed much.
Just like in the past, today we are erecting monumental structures to the gods so that through them we can influence the course of life.
We, unfortunately, are still building monumental walls and fortresses to protect against attacks from other people. We might think that after the creation of nuclear weapons, the world will be afraid to start new wars, but on February 24, 2022, Russia proved the opposite. Therefore, even such a question as the protection of one's territory (property, rights...) has not lost its relevance in the 21st century.
We are still constructing grandiose structures to protect against the forces of nature or overcome them in the easiest way. And to this day, the exaltation of outstanding people, and significant or sad events has not lost its relevance.
And to this day, the exaltation of outstanding people, and significant or sad events has not lost its relevance.
Also, the correspondence and accounting of the landscape, urban construction, the movement of the sun, wind, and other natural phenomena, so to say site-specific ideas have not changed.
The materials for the monuments changed along with the technological process. If at the time of the first monumental buildings only stone was used, because they simply did not know another yet. Today, the creation of a monument using augmented reality is normal.
Dimensions, as well as in ancient times, depending on the concept and idea itself. Of course, the space and territory somehow increased in value, therefore, I think that a sculpture of the size of the pyramids will not be created in the territory of modern, for example, Tokyo. But even in the time of our ancestors, they created miniature works that convey as much monumentality as large ones. Since it is considered natural for a person to measure through the size of his own body, I think that, nevertheless, a larger object will have a greater impression.
In answering the question of how we can monumentalize or commemorate an individual, event or idea in our complex modern era, I can say that the process is taking on a more personal touch. In my opinion, this trend is due to the fact that human capabilities in a choice of method, size, and material are not limited. I mean that you can think of anything and realize it. Art has no boundaries anymore, as it were before - if a monument, then it should be made of marble. Now, this monument can be made of plastic, high-strength metal, durable concrete, or even just pixels in the virtual world. What really matters more, it seems to me, in the modern world, is the manifestation of features, differences and the demonstration of the individual through the general. Therefore, in order to find the right material and form, the artist creating the project must take into account the practice of previous masters, see and understand the present, and at the same time be able to translate the human perception of emotions through non-verbal ways of perception. Such a complex, contemporary approach.
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