Anti Monument | Studio Art Teaching Resources

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to define the role that monuments play in society.
Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of scale, proportion, texture and value.
Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the need for research and how to appropriately develop ideas that are enriched by that research and explored through their visual work.
Students will be able to demonstrate excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail.

Materials

Cardboard
White Elmer’s Glue
Cheap Chip Brushes
Xacto Knife
Utility Knife
Masking Tape
Hot glue gun and glue sticks (the regular sized ones)
Metal ruler

Info

The aim of this project is to get you thinking about both aesthetic and conceptual ideas.

For the aesthetic portion I want you to investigate the use of form, balance, scale, proportion, texture and value. You will need to consider how the scale of your project informs the viewer – does the scale of your monument feel imposing, welcoming, threatening? When the scale changes, so does texture. You will need to consider how you use texture on a potentially much larger work of art. Monuments are typically located in outdoor areas or places with uncontrolled lighting. Use that uncontrollable and unpredictable nature as part of your work.

Conceptually you will be asked to create the opposite of the traditional monument. Although your final project might (or might not) look like a traditional monument, what it memorializes is it up to you. Focus on institutions, ideas, beliefs that you admire or despise. Pick them apart. When working out ideas for this project you’ll need to do some research. The first question you should ask yourself is “What is a monument?” After a quick Google search we find that “A monument is defined as a building, statue or other structure erected to commemorate a famous person or event”.

Additional questions you should consider –

What is the role of a monument?
If they are designed to tell a story, whose story is being told and from what viewpoint?
How should we interpret monuments that are funded by major corporations or donors?
While Confederate monuments are at the forefront of the news today, what other monuments present similar issues?

One note – Although this assignment was developed during the height of the 2020 protests and the subsequent removal of Confederate monuments, your work does not need to be anything nearly as confrontational. It could be something more humorous or it could indeed take on more challenging topics. While it is ok to to make work that might be offensive, I expect you to have done the research to support your work. It is not enough to be offensive for the sake of being offensive.

Sketchbook

Take notes in your sketchbook on the readings and videos from the Research section below.
Create one page in your Google Sketchbook Presentation for each of the sections below. Use this part of your presentation to research ideas for your monument. You’re not trying to copy what is already out there but you are trying to find sources of inspiration. In your sketchbook presentation you will need to include a slide for each of the following –
– 5 images of historical monuments
– 5 images of social monuments
– 5 images of historical architecture
– 5 images of appropriate textures for your monument
– 5 images of cardboard works of art
– 5 images of events, people, places, historical events, causes, social events, etc that you have some belief about.
Lots of sketches. I’m looking for serious sketches and brainstorming.
Research different methods used in cardboard construction and look over images and videos on this page. Take notes in your sketchbook.
Accumulate cardboard to bring in to class.

Project

Using your Google Sketchbook from the homework above, sketch out your finalized monument to scale with the aid of the professor. The minimum size for this project are 2 feet by 3 feet. Make sure to think of any problems you might face while you are building your sculpture. Think about design and structural integrity issues as you sketch. Think about balance, height, width, how it sits it space, etc.

After getting your sketch approved by the professor, start constructing your monument. You should start with the large shapes first with the recycled cardboard and “rough” out the main components. We will use the new cardboard for the final skin. You should focus on establishing excellent craftsmanship as you work. Edges of the cardboard should not be frayed and glue should not show. The cardboard will not be painted, so what you see if what you get. This is why craftsmanship will be so important – you won’t be able to hide anything.

Continue building your forms for your monument and start to slowly add details where needed. Examine your sculpture from all sides as you are working to make sure that one side is not neglected. All sides you should be well built and creatively executed.

Create areas of interest. If the viewer comes close to your sculpture, will there be something for them to look at? Create surprises for the viewer.

Research

Collective memory refers to the shared pool of memories, knowledge and information of a social group that is significantly associated with the group’s identity. The English phrase “collective memory” and the equivalent French phrase “la mémoire collective” appeared in the second half of the nineteenth century. The philosopher and sociologist Maurice Halbwachs analyzed and advanced the concept of the collective memory in the book “Les cadres sociaux de la mémoire” (1925). Collective memory can be constructed, shared, and passed on by large and small social groups. Examples of these groups can include nations, generations, communities, among others. Collective memory has been a topic of interest and research across a number of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, and anthropology. (Source)

Anti-monumentalism (or Counter-monumentalism) is a philosophy in art that denies the presence of any imposing, authoritative social force in public spaces. It developed as an opposition to monumentalism whereby authorities (usually the state or dictator) establish monuments in public spaces to symbolize themselves or their ideology, and influence the historical narrative of the place. According to artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, anti-monument “refers to an action, a performance, which clearly rejects the notion of a monument developed from an elitist point of view as an emblem of power.” Krzysztof Wodiczko‘s Bunker Hill Monument Projections, Do-Ho Suh‘s Public Figures or Jochen Gerz‘s 2146 Stones – Monument against Racism can be considered examples of anti-monumentalism. (Source)