Northeastern
University Veterans Memorial
Boston MA
A pleated and perforated bronze screen stretches northeast and forms
a canvas of names, organized chronologically by each person’s
first year at Northeastern University. The pleated panels are staggered
to allow for unique geographic positions registered vertically for
each veteran in a decade of classes. Following the name by running
one’s fingers over the screen, a visitor finds a bronze rod
in the ground. The rod traces a connection between the name and
a small solar pinlight pedestal, marking the distance between time
at Northeastern and the individual’s passing.
The
pinlights carve out spaces within the elliptical field of ornamental
grass. The space between the bronze screen and the pinlight establish
individual “geographies of contemplation;” these geographies
connect people through patterns that emerge in the field of engagement.
Visitors might find friends of loved ones, or connections may be
discovered between people separated by space and time. The patterns
tell a story about sacrifice at individual and communal levels,
the meaning of the pattern left to interpretation and personal relection.
The
bronze material- weathered over time, affected by the oils of the
fingers tracing the connections, the foot traffic brightening the
flush rods in the ground- leave a trace of visitors remembering.
The pinlights are shimmering crystals by day, soft glowing clouds
of light at night, illuminating and seen though the pleated screen.
While
the length of the screen would allow for names beyond 800 (and also
allow for additions over time), the gaps between patterns made by
names are meaningful historical gaps, positions in time between
war and peace allowing for relection at other scales.
competition
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