Citizenship and Public Art: The Political Aesthetics of New York's 9/11/01 Memorial
Location
Beaman A&B
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
26-9-2012 7:00 PM
Description
In the United States, we frequently assume that government supported public art is supposed to be an act of citizenship, that is, supportive of values associated with democracy. Even the inaugural years of this country were marked by a contentious debate over whether George Washington would be more appropriately remembered by a stone monument or by “a plain tablet, on which every man could write what his heart dictated.” The terms of this debate have been repeated throughout the history of the U.S and most recently in the context of New York’s National September 11 Memorial, “Reflecting Absence,” and the “Memorial Museum” and “Freedom Tower” accompanying it. Dr. Evans will address the political aesthetics of the 9/11/01 memorial in order to derive a criterion for judging it and other public art as acts of citizenship or, to use the terms of the Belmont Humanities Symposium, “democratic civility.” At the core of this project is the issue of the meaning of democracy and the degree to which the 9/11 memorial reflects or deepens our understanding of it in the context of death and mourning as well as international relations.
Recommended Citation
Evans, Fred, "Citizenship and Public Art: The Political Aesthetics of New York's 9/11/01 Memorial" (2012). Humanities Symposium. 17.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2012/2012/17
Citizenship and Public Art: The Political Aesthetics of New York's 9/11/01 Memorial
Beaman A&B
In the United States, we frequently assume that government supported public art is supposed to be an act of citizenship, that is, supportive of values associated with democracy. Even the inaugural years of this country were marked by a contentious debate over whether George Washington would be more appropriately remembered by a stone monument or by “a plain tablet, on which every man could write what his heart dictated.” The terms of this debate have been repeated throughout the history of the U.S and most recently in the context of New York’s National September 11 Memorial, “Reflecting Absence,” and the “Memorial Museum” and “Freedom Tower” accompanying it. Dr. Evans will address the political aesthetics of the 9/11/01 memorial in order to derive a criterion for judging it and other public art as acts of citizenship or, to use the terms of the Belmont Humanities Symposium, “democratic civility.” At the core of this project is the issue of the meaning of democracy and the degree to which the 9/11 memorial reflects or deepens our understanding of it in the context of death and mourning as well as international relations.
Comments
Convo: AL