Waubonsee Community College

Memorials as spaces of engagement, design, use and meaning, Quentin Stevens and Karen A. Franck

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 238-253) and index

illustrationsplates

index present

non fiction

Memorials as spaces of engagement

bibliography

903363390

Quentin Stevens and Karen A. Franck

design, use and meaning

"Memorials are more diverse in design and subject matter than ever before. No longer limited to statues of heroes placed high on pedestals, contemporary memorials engage visitors in new, often surprising ways, contributing to the liveliness of public space. In Memorials as Spaces of Engagement Quentin Stevens and Karen A. Franck explore how changes in memorial design and use have helped forge closer, richer relationships between commemorative sites and their visitors. The authors combine first hand analysis of key examples with material drawn from existing scholarship. Examples from the US, Canada, Australia and Europe include official, formally designed memorials and informal ones, those created by the public without official sanction. Memorials as Spaces of Engagement discusses important issues for the design, management and planning of memorials and public space in general. The book is organized around three topics: how the physical design of memorial objects and spaces has evolved since the 19th century; how people experience and understand memorials through the activities of commemorating, occupying and interpreting; and the issues memorials raise for management and planning. Memorials as Spaces of Engagement will be of interest to architects, landscape architects and artists; historians of art, architecture and culture; urban sociologists and geographers; planners, policymakers and memorial sponsors; and all those concerned with the design and use of public space."--Publisher information

Introduction : Origin and scope -- pt. I. Memorials as objects and spaces : From viewing to engaging: Figural to spatial, Distant to close, Seeing to experiencing, Increased agency ; From straightforward to challenging: Beyond heroism and honor, Abstraction, Inversions and absence, In dialogue, Multiplicity ; From general to particular: Imagery, Text; Particulars: why so many? -- pt. II. Memorials as used and understood : Commemorating: Visiting, bringing tributes, Expressing, interacting, Holding ceremonies, Inventing commemoration ; Occupying: Observed uses, Understanding uses ; Interpreting: Engaged spectatorship, Active performances of meaning, Open and closed meaning -- pt. III. Memorials as responsibilities : Managing: Managing use, Maintaining a good appearance, Keeping the memorial relevant, Managing meaning ; Planning: Sites, Differing commemorative narratives, Planning for changing values, Cities and history are unmanageable ; A special kind of public space: Engaging memorials, Making memorials, What kind of special place?