Field Trip to Washington D.C.

The Eisenhower Memorial is a more modern attempt at honoring historical figures and embodying past events from the perspective of the United States. It features several scenes from Eisenhower's life including a very detailed scene of Eisenhower talking with troops during WWII. This memorial is less known  only because it is fairly new and surrounded by larger and better known  iconic memorials and statues. However, the statue is still very powerful and important because it represents and honors one of America’s greatest heroes during WWII as well as one of this nation’s presidents.

It was very intriguing and eye opening to learn about the history behind each monument and memorial we came across during the field trip. Comparing all the different structures and their unique elements and purposes really brings out the numerous ways that pieces of public art can be executed in a way that engages with the public. Public engagement  and interaction with monuments gives the static structures further layers of meaning. We specifically learned a lot about the Washington Monument and its development. A park ranger who worked there informed the class about the monument’s complex history including the fun fact that the grass lawn surrounding the monument was at one time used to feed cattle. Seeing how the area is now so well maintained and high traffic with tourists, it is odd imagining farm animals roaming around. The lawn is maintained in a manner that emphasizes the awe-inspiring nature of the monument as a symbol of this country.

Another fun fact that was shared with us was that the marble that was used to construct the monument came from both Baltimore and Massachusetts due to supply issues. When it was first built, it was left unfinished due to a lack of material and donation and wasn’t finished until long after it was started and you can see a pretty visible line of the old, original marble before construction stopped, and where they resumed the project. Now if you look closely, you can see the dividing line and subsequent differences in the marbles’ characteristics. During this information session, many of the visitors and tourists who were visiting the monument listened in while the park ranger was speaking and showing us pictures. The fact that visitors felt compelled to listen in and learn more about this historic landmark really shows how the monument and the surrounding space is able to inspire common emotions like curiosity in a variety of people and thus, unify a diverse spread of people. The subtle unifying nature of the Washington Monument is what we aim to replicate on a smaller scale with the piece of art we are commissioning for the IDEA factory. With innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurship being the core values of the IDEA factory, public art designed for this space should draw from these themes to create a public piece that interacts with the community and embodies those principles. At the same time, the IDEA factory is meant to be a home to students across multiple disciplines at UMD and therefore the piece we install should  represent the UMD student body as a whole. The ideal of collaboration across colleges at UMD is closely mirrored in the Public Figures sculpture by Do Ho Suh which features an unoccupied pedestal supported by many individuals.