The Remarkable Story of Maya Lin's Vietnam Veterans Memorial

When I hear the word Monument or Memorial, I think of something legendary, something to remember forever and celebrate over and over again. A memorial is a piece of artwork, it can be a song, it can be a book, it can be materialistic, it can be whatever, as long as it means something to that person, which is why they are immensely important. Memorials and Monuments have an emotional connection with where the action took place and what happened. It creates a relationship for the visitors and the viewers.

To see the history in a memorial is something not many people get to go see in their lifetime and sometimes people do not realize their importance. A company should consider size, location, and materials in planning and creating a memorial to the past because without correct execution, the country won’t get the full picture on the memorial’s heroic moments.

When it comes to creating a monument, the location of where it is going to be at is crucial.

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As savage explains, “Why make a pilgrimage to a site with no historical significance to read a text that was already everywhere?” (Savage). Savage tells the reader, that there is no point of building a monument if it doesn’t have any relation to the event. There is a lot of monuments around the world that are placed where they don’t belong, the Holocaust Museum is in a Washington Mall, it should not be there. The ones that are where they belong, make even just passing by them mesmerizing.

The Christopher Columbus monument sits on River Side Park in Pennsylvania (Deegan). The picture looks mesmerizing. When going to it, the vast open area makes it stand out. If it was in a different area with billboards or in the city, the thought of his journey to America wouldn’t be the same.

Monuments should also spark one’s memory, what they are made out of and size is crucial. A piece of Artwork that is unproportional or made out of something it shouldn’t represent is obviously a turndown. There would be no reason to go see it, it didn’t meet the scenery. In creating the Museum, the size was a problem, as explained, “design was too ‘massive’ The members of the commission felt the massive building would overcome The Mall and take away the main purpose of the museum”, (Musser). This should have been executed from the start, or they should have thought it out more. At the end of the day, it still brings memory to what occurred. Material also plays a huge part. A decision for Black Granite was made by Maya LIn, in “Making The Memorial, as said, “I chose black granite in order to make the surface reflective and peaceful. I never looked at the memorial as a wall, an object, but as an edge to the earth” (Lin). This is powerful because Black Granite is shiny and pearly. It reflects the names while seeing light shine upon them, and the viewer as well.

Now Last , but of course not least, the Monument or Memorial needs to portray the message to the viewer. It has to execute the design and scene. Maya Lin engraved the names of the fallen soldiers into the Granite, which is a smart thing to do, as she explains, “there was no need to embellish the design further. The people and their names would allow everyone to respond and remember.”, (Lin). This was a perfect choice because there would be no other way in making the eminent better. The names will stand out and be there forever for generation to remember. How the Christopher Columbus Statue Stands tall portrays a message as well (Deegan). It shows how he was a good leader. Sophisticated as well, he has his hands behind his back and looking straight forward to conquer the next land.

Monuments and Memorials will keep on playing a huge part in our world’s history. Location is the first step to greatness, the beautiful scenery needs to match the energy of the viewer. Size and Materials will be highly valued as well, as it is the start to a story and an appealing view of the piece.