Last night A and I decided, foolishly, we had enough time to walk to the new MLK memorial and get to Dupont circle in time for a 6:30 dinner with friends. Since we left Foggy Bottom at 5:55, this was a fools errand, but it was well worth being late for dinner.
I had heard some aesthetic criticism of the new MLK memorial, but I think it is great. What makes memorials great, and in my opinion almost all the memorials on the mall in Washington fit this criteria, is a majestic approach. MLK is no slouch in majesty. As you approach the memorial entrance, which is two giant pieces of granite simulating a pass through a mountain, you see just a glimpse of the tidal basin beyond. Coming through the passage you see another great piece of "mountain" in front of you surrounded by tidal basin off in the distance, and across the basin, the Jefferson memorial. The idea is you are moving through the "mountain of despair" and ending up at the "stone of hope" (www.mlkmemorial.org). Beautiful flow. I also like the way the memorial is situated on the sightline between Jefferson and Lincoln. To me, this adds so many historical grounding points - Jefferson a slave owner (although conflicted over it) and Lincoln an abolitionist.
The part of the memorial shown on most TV stations over the last few months was a close up image of part of the statue of King; this image made me think the memorial would be a gaudy simple structure. But the truth is the statue of King is set into the piece of the "mountain" in the middle of the plaza, making it much more subtle than the TV images let on. I really like the imagery for its surface simplicity and deeper meaning. In many ways, the monument is a visual representation of MLK's speeches - simplicity with great meaning brought about through strong metaphors. The whole monument is extremely tasteful and well done.
I had heard some aesthetic criticism of the new MLK memorial, but I think it is great. What makes memorials great, and in my opinion almost all the memorials on the mall in Washington fit this criteria, is a majestic approach. MLK is no slouch in majesty. As you approach the memorial entrance, which is two giant pieces of granite simulating a pass through a mountain, you see just a glimpse of the tidal basin beyond. Coming through the passage you see another great piece of "mountain" in front of you surrounded by tidal basin off in the distance, and across the basin, the Jefferson memorial. The idea is you are moving through the "mountain of despair" and ending up at the "stone of hope" (www.mlkmemorial.org). Beautiful flow. I also like the way the memorial is situated on the sightline between Jefferson and Lincoln. To me, this adds so many historical grounding points - Jefferson a slave owner (although conflicted over it) and Lincoln an abolitionist.
The part of the memorial shown on most TV stations over the last few months was a close up image of part of the statue of King; this image made me think the memorial would be a gaudy simple structure. But the truth is the statue of King is set into the piece of the "mountain" in the middle of the plaza, making it much more subtle than the TV images let on. I really like the imagery for its surface simplicity and deeper meaning. In many ways, the monument is a visual representation of MLK's speeches - simplicity with great meaning brought about through strong metaphors. The whole monument is extremely tasteful and well done.
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