Requiem

Before reading the "Requiem" article by Paul Goldberger, I have never really been well versed in some of the more precise facts and history of the Oklahoma City bombing, nor have I ever really thought about it that much. I knew that the event occurred, but I never really went out of my way to learn more about it. I found it quite interesting as to how much critical thought and dedication was put into the planing and creation of the Oklahoma City Federal Building memorial as it would have never occurred to me that one must implement such a great amount of analysis into creating something like a memorial. After reading about such processes, I can now see why there is so much planning and extremely critical thought involved. I liked how the article delved into the idea that one must articulate the intentions of a memorial before actually thinking about a physical design. I now see memorials, and specifically the Oklahoma City Federal Building memorial, as a device to help evoke thought and emotion about a specific event or occurrence, and to do so properly the concepts of the memorial must be devised before the physical structure. I now see memorials as the perfect depiction of conceptual art. While there is a physical structure of most memorials, it's the deep down history, memories, and emotion that really create the piece.

The photo I chose was that of a memorial right here in Chicago. It is known as the eternal flame and it sits within Daley Plaza downtown. Its design is very simple and the memorial is quite small, but it is dedicated to all men and women who died in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. While the physical design is important, I see the concept, in that the flame is always burning in remembrance of all the people who served and died for this county, as much more emotion evoking.