Imprimis, published by Hillsdale College

Dr. Michael Lewis has a fascinating article in the recent issue of Imprimis, published by Hillsdale College. It is available on their website (www.hillsdale.edu) or I can e-mail it to you in PDF. Dr. Lewis is a professor of art and architecture at Williams College and writes on “The Decline of American Monuments and Memorials.” He laments the memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr., the proposed memorial to President Eisenhower, and some additions to the Vietnam War memorial.

Dr. Lewis’s major complaint is that these newer memorials have left symbolism for literal. Symbols celebrate deep-seated values of Americans specifically and humans in general – truth, honor, and sacrifice. For example, when the wall was not “sufficient” for the Vietnam War memorial, Frederick Hart built a sculpture to depict the fighting men – three – one for the blacks, whites, and Hispanics who died in the war. But then it was decided “men” weren’t sufficient either, so Glenna Goodacre did another sculpture of three women – for the 7 women who died.

“It is not easy, of course, to make a succinct statement in sculptural form of the essence of a man’s life,” writes Professor Lewis. Specifically speaking of the Eisenhower and King memorials, he goes on: “They fail fundamentally as monuments, …because they misunderstand what a monument is, or should be. As traditionally understood, a monument is the expression of a single powerful idea in a single emphatic form, in colossal scale and in permanent materials, made to serve civic life” (page 2).

In Dr. Lewis’s view, the best monuments are lapidary – a Latin word referring to verbal compression. “They show a splendid economy of expression in saying one thing, and saying it monumentally” (page 3).

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Now, the next time you observe the Lord’s Supper, think about the economy of verbal expression inscribed on most tables for the Supper: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Could those words not refer just as much to the sacrificial lifestyle of our Lord as to the Supper itself? What could be a better, succinct message for Christians every first day of the week than – sacrifice.

“But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28).

–Paul Holland

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