The dictionary.com definition of a museum is "a building or place where works of art, scientific specimens, or other objects of permanent value are kept and displayed." What better place to find an object of permanent value than a cemetery. I searched through four museums and could not find anything that peaked my interest into my study of humanities until at last it hit me, a cemetery I had passed countless times as a child that I had never truly thought of at all. At the corner of Cypresswood and I-45 I began to sift into a cemetery that I had no true interest in, or so I thought. The cemetery was home to about sixteen burial plots but one particularly interested me. The headstone read Friedrich August Wunsche, Geb July 20, 1837, Gest May 3, 1897. I decided on this tombstone because of its architecture and time period of the person it commemorated, it is the sole surviving piece for this man to be remembered by. A shrine of sorts to his life, this man lived in the union, probably fought for the confederacy and then died when the United States was once again united. I truly chose this particular headstone because it was different than the rest, most were designed into a more secular way, hearts engraved into them or just simple block headstones with initials carved into them. The cemetery ranged from very ornate with multiple parts and different scripts to the simplest headstones as previously described. The headstone was in a shape of an obelisk similar to that of Egyptians we have studied. An odd occurrence it seemed as the rest of the head stones seemed of the standard variety. I think that this headstone was quite well made as it has survived over one-hundred years with only minor flaws in the architecture. When you really t...
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... found an even more interesting parallel, Geb is a Egyptian god as well, in particular the Egyptian god of the Earth. This throws out the answer to the other two questions of life, "What are we?" and "What's the point?" This one tombstone answers all of the questions, though it sends sort of a mixed message about what's the point and what are we. If the deceased believed in Geb than there is a highly likely chance that they answered their personal question with the thought that they were the servant of an Egyptian god and should serve that master with all aspects of their life, even honoring Geb with the design of his tomb. On the other hand, Friedrich could have believed that the true answer to these questions was that we are humans, put on the earth by God as His children, alive to serve Him. The basis for the Christian beliefs followed during Friedreich’s life.
The plaque shown is a light umber in color, with a funeral scene etched out in black and white engravings into the smooth surface. The figures are very geometric in style and simplified. Even so, each figure seems to still have somewhat differentiating features from one another. How they are places in relation to each other creates a sense of rhythm within the piece. Helping guide the viewer, and lends itself to the illusion of the element of time.
“In this national cemetery, the marble headstones are so close together, they almost touch. The markers appear to be one long headstone, as if one grave grew out of the other" (Roberts xi).... ... middle of paper ... ...
I saw that soldier’s faces were lit eerily in the dim light. The sculptures apparel seemed fitting due to the light rain that was falling at the memorial site. I noticed the wall glimmering as the raindrops slid down the glassy surface and fall into the wilting flowers while the images illuminated from the glare of rain and light. I felt this morbid and realistic presence of the soldiers and for a mere second felt the gloom and menace of the war they were in. I walked around the site to gather more information on what the memorial was dedicated to. I walked past the mural wall and as I did I paid particular attention to the various images of people and equipment on the wall. All of the facial expressions of the people on the wall gave the memorial a very real presence to it. I continued walking down the granite walk and I read it was the Korean War Veterans Memorial and immediately got the message the artists were trying to convey. It was very clear that they were showing the public that freedom is not free. The memorial symbolizes the soldiers that have fought for the freedom of others and it recognizes the importance of these actions and
Gorgias writes, “pious in their practice to the gods.” Gorgias describes the illustrious dead as pious, heroic in their religious activity. Similarly, Lincoln orates, “we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow--this ground.” Lincoln again illustrates his inability to add to the situation; rather, the ultimate sacrifice of the soldiers is sacred enough. Both Gorgias and Lincoln describe the dead as either having been religious or having religious influence. Both orations are similar in how they treat the dead’s relationship with
...cestors and past figures of the town. People work incredibly hard on the upkeep and records of the cemetery, which brings a sense of pride and community togetherness. The oldest recorded cemetery in Nebraska certainly is a spectacular landmark to our state.
The Marble Grave Stele is a horizontal piece that was embedded in a larger piece of marble. The inscriptions of the names of who died have long been lost. Thus, we must interpret for ourselves what the full meaning of the piece is. The artist of the piece is unknown, but it was constructed in Greece in around 360 B.C. during the Classical Era and stands at 171.1 centimeters in height. Its original location, as its name suggests, was at a gravesite; currently, it is located in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Stele was carved from marble. Overall, it is in good condition; however, the body of the woman on the left is missing with only her head surviving. Its stone frame in which it was set is also missing. This frame more than lik...
It is obvious in this photograph that this soldier is taking great pride in guarding the Tomb of the Unknown. The first thing noticed when looking at this photograph from D. Myles Cullen is the white marble sarcophagus, or stone coffin. This is located in the very center of the photograph and is an important and well-respected monument. Engraved on the sarcophagus are the words
Washington, DC is a spectacular place. This being my first time in DC, I was in awe of everything and all the historical places I encountered. The presence of the monuments and history is what made the capitol so magnificent. Having only read about the Lincoln memorial, I never had the chance to experience the sensation of being inside such an honorable place of importance. The imposing white marble walls of the memorial and the many people surrounding it could be seen from afar. Arriving at the location, an unknown feeling came over me. I was experiencing history in a whole different level. When I think about a memorial, the term remembrance comes to mind. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln brought pieces of memories from history class and evoked thoughts of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes. I was astonished by the statue’s enormousness and how grand Abraham Lincoln looked in his chair. The size of the statue compared to pictures from books and elsewhere was surreal. Abraham Lincoln was a very “powerful and prominent individual” in the history of our nation, the statue’s design and size reflected upon that. Looking around me, I wanted to know what the others thoughts were on seeing his statue and how they felt in that building. I finally had the courage to ask one or two people what they thought; they all had the same appreciation as me. Hearing about an important person or learning about them in a history book gives you vast knowledge but it doesn’t evoke the feeling of utter appreciation as the memorial does. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, many people wanted to build a memorial in honor of him. They wanted to be able to show how important he was to shaping our nation and to “honor his existence”. Ce...
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
It holds remains of prophets, noble kings, princes, sultans, and most revered religious leaders as well as ordinary people. Some of the graves are built with bricks and plaster and rise up to ten feet high. There are tombstones that are room size that used to be built by people of high social class, and there are underground burial vaults as well that one can only access by a ladder. The tall graves used to be built as such so that people from the neighborhoods could see them. The unique graves dating hundreds of years ago remain to date though some have been destroyed during the civil war. Many more diverse graves continue to be established alongside the ancient ones making the cemetery a rich source of both culture and modernity.
There is not a mausoleum in this cemetery. The original stones are unreadable and far too few for as many bodies assumed to lie beneath me. Rocks and pieces of broken old gravestones are scattered throughout the area. A lot of head stones
to the Pet cemetary. Louis answers her honestly and later Rachel and him have an
Museums educate us with objects of art and culture from all over the world. Some pieces may have dramatically more meaning to people than others, but museums can’t be too conscientious about this or there would be very few pieces. Yet, if pieces aren’t displayed with enough emphasis of their importance, visitors may not even glance at them , and are even less likely to read the information about them. One piece at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the “Head of a Buddha image” (Figures 1 & 2), is displayed in such a way that is very out of balance between Michael Baxandall’s “cultural terms” (1) of where the object is derived and (2) that of the viewer’s when considering everything for exhibiting an object (1991). It is proposed that the
In ancient times, a huge rock of fire collapsed in what was once called “Earth”. The Earth then separated into three parts in different spaces. These three parts were then named unique names, and a new age of three different kingdoms arrived. But there was a little unfolded truth behind the kingdoms’ powers, and a mess started occurring. All of these troubles will rest in peace if the unknown maiden stood against them. But unluckily, nobody knew where she was hiding, and brave knights from the three known kingdoms started the search.
The artists engagingly bring into focus and question what a museum is and what its role is in contemporary society. The hovering, glowing statements light up the surrounding walls and ask us to contemplate the ways in which museums function to tell our stories. They ask us to think about the role of the museum in the production and storage of cultural and personal knowledge, how it acts to document and reflect social changes and how, as an institutional site, it mediates the relationship between personal and collective memories.