Posted by Jan Orfe on October 15, 2003 at 10:22:12:In Reply to: Re: Physical Memory, Tall Memorials posted by Brian on October 14, 2003 at 12:01:21:
I don't know who coined that phrase. But
he certainly wasn't talking about that
16-acre hole in lower Manhattan, nor our feeble attempts to fill that hole with whatever symbolic stuff will please a 13-member jury. And I say feeble, because
who among us is capable of creating the ideal memorial design: One that conveys the essential meaning of personal loss, within the context of a national tragedy, within the even greater context of an attack upon freedom itself? Those 3,022
Americans were the living and breathing embodiment of freedom's blessings. And
if the final design fails to communicate
that basic connection between individual
loss and the principles of freedom which
sustain us, what is the point in whether
you build something monumental or stay within the confines of Libeskind's pit??
In my opinion, there IS a right way and a
wrong way to fill this particular void.
And I believe the jury understands the
historic significance involved. We were
urged to create "an original and powerful
statement of enduring and universal
symbolism". And that's what I presented
to the jury, my feeble attempt to express
a nobility of purpose at Ground Zero. My
mission was not to break the rules for
the sake of challenging Libeskind's site plan, since I likened his cluster of
buildings to a gravesight headstone (while the pit itself was clearly an open grave). From that perspective, I worked my way upwards, each Program Element allotted a unique amount of space to address each of the requirements. My area for public ceremony took advantage of
the shadow cast by one of his cultural
buildings. My area for families and loved
does not require a special key to enter;
it is, afterall, a public memorial? And
my enclosed space for the unidentified
remains carries as much symbolic weight as my naming of every victim and hero in
a non-hierarchal composition. Not one design element deviated from that
guideline I quoted above. Everything fit to my satisfaction. Trees, grass, water,
everything was easy to access. I even
used a couple green colored pencils to
dress it up a little, adding some red and
blue and a touch of yellow.My design not only looks good from a bird's-eye view, but people on the ground
from wherever they approach will, I
believe, be moved by the variety and impact of objects rising above the pit.
Asking us to provide scenes of what the
memorial would look like in rain, wind
and snow, from all points of the globe,
at certain times of the day and night
was a joke. I had enough problems drawing stick figures!Finally, I'll be frank: I don't care if I win or lose. My design is what it is, let the jury wrestle with all the inherent meaning and purpose of this
democratically devised competition. If
I'm not one of the finalists, then the
jury has spoken. But if I am, I will be faced with THE biggest decision of my life: Say "Yes" to whatever fame that will surely follow, and in the process
prepare for being put under a microscope, against my better judgment?; or say "No,
thank you", it's been real while it lasted? What price this fame, to hunger for a smell, a touch, a taste, and be consumed by it's fleeting fragrance inch by inch? Orfe
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