Response to Paul Goldberger's Requiem

The way Paul Goldberger chose to write this piece fascinates me. There is always conflict somewhere in the reading, or at least in my mind. In the beginning, there's this insinuated comparison between the ideas for a World Trade Center memorial and the Oklahoma memorial. In the middle, there's sharp links in his text to the success of Maya Lin in her famous, awe-inspiring Vietnam War Memorial. By the end, Goldberger creates even more conflict by claiming that perhaps the memorial is simply a piece of entertainment. I found it difficult, as a reader, to understand where he was getting at at times.
That said, the Oklahoma bombing memorial makes a very interesting statement that I think is intensely different from that of many other memorials. The design team's choice to let the families decide on the winning design really interests me. It creates a question of what a memorial is about. Is it about the loved ones only? Is it about the art, the idea, and the questions it raises? Is it about everyone?
For Maya Lin, the brains behind one of my all time favorite memorials, the memorial was about sacred space. For her, it was about the experience. Granted, Lin did receive a lot of press and exposure after being announced the winner. Many Vietnam war veterans were angered that a young college student was in charge of designing their monument. Despite this, Lin's finished piece evokes something much more than memoriam from the people who pass through it. As Goldberger mentions, you sink into the ground, and settle down their with the dead, feeling their presence.
Which one is art? Is a memorium art at all? Some would say no. Others would strongly disagree and say that a memorium is the most sacred art form in existence. I personally thing that the Oklahoma bombing memorial, as a piece of art, is a mix of feelings and emotions not well established. It lacks fluidity, and although the intention is pure and visible, their was not enough clear ideas. That said, it's a memorial, and does its purpose well. The families of the victims and the survivors can look at the memorial they chose, and obviously feel some significance to the piece far beyond what any other person could imagine.