Preserving Memory: A Study of Monuments and Memorials
Bradley McCallum
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Give FeedbackThe Names Project AIDS Quilt
Step One: observation
The scale of the quilt is extremely large.—It seems as though the memorial could continue to grow in scale.—The quilt itself is made up of panels that are all basically the same size and on each panel a name has been placed.—The colors designs and materials of each panel are very different, indicating that they were all made by different people.—While hundreds of different people have collaborated on this project the composition of the quilt holds together as one work because of the use of a specific grid pattern. Each panel is combined with seven others to make a perfect square.—The squares are then combined with three others to make one large square and the large squares form rows and columns that extend several city blocks.—The size of each panel is similar to a single bed, flag, or coffin.—The quilt is not permanent and requires a large effort to care take the work.—The quilt functions as a temporal memorial bringing people together for a specific issue.—After looking at each individual panel it is clear from the inscriptions they were made by loved ones, for instance Gary Arthur Key’s mother made a quilt for her son who died on February 26, 1986. On the panel she has sown rows of birds, along with a text describing her son as “bird watcher, only son, jogger, attorney, gourmet cook, outdoors man”.—The graphic handling of each panel ranges from a illustrative approach like Robert Bowling’s panel for his lover John Mueller in which he creates the image of pine trees surrounding a lake with a rain bow that stretches across the sky, to collage used in the panel made for Ron Wilson in which his team mates stitched his soft ball uniform along with a single word “warrior” onto a panel.—As the students continue to look at different examples they will notice that each panel is a memory or collection of memories. Photographs, news articles, love notes, pieces of clothing, symbolic images and quotations all accompany the names of the victims and the dates in which they have died.
Step Two: drawings
Submit three drawings, in this case also include a diagram of the patchwork used in the Quilt.
Step Three: content
The content of The Names Project is self-explanatory. It is a collection of memories presented by friends, lovers and family members who have experienced the lose of a loved one to AIDS. The work is a formal acknowledgment of the AIDS crisis and is used as a tool for activism in gaining public awareness and support for those who have AIDS.
Step Four: symbolism
The public fear that accompanies AIDS isolates individuals who are HIV positive. This memorial subverts the tendency by creating a healing context for people to gather and morn the victims of AIDS.—By establishing a common context for the memories of the victims a unity and strength is established that demands attention in a public manner.—Because AIDS is in part a sexually transmitted disease the use of the quilt as a symbolic reference is important.—Each panel can be seen as covering the bed of the victim sealing their death with a memory.—Furthermore, placing the quilt on the ground establishes a common burial for the victims the quilt covers the dead.—In addition each panel serves as a burial marker.—Because the scale of The Names Project and the care that goes into presenting the work is so great, a ‘sacred’ space is established that is strongly felt by any one who views the memorial.—A powerful statement is made when a collaboration between many people participate in a common goal. The goal is to represent the rang of survivors who have lost loved ones to AIDS.—Finally this work succeeds in its design to show that the individuals who have died are just one type of victim, the survivors are also victims and their testimonies represented by their panels reveal their pain.
Step Five: context—audience
The Names Project functions as a temporal memorial it establishing a specific purpose for people to gather and acknowledge the effect of AIDS on our community. For those who see the project have a profound memory that will influence their understanding of the AIDS crises. Secondly unlike other memorials this work is used as a form of activism to corral the media’s attention. The audience extends beyond those who have seen the work in person to include the millions who have learned about the AIDS Quilt from television, newspapers, and magazines. A question that should be asked of the students is how the impact of this memorial would change if it were permanently installed? Would it continue to demand the media attention?