Monuments, monuments, monuments
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Of the three finalists in the O’Connell monument competition I think the glass column by Jonathan Bennett was by far the best answer to the brief. The play on the absence of Nelson and its being a negative monument was clever and subtle (in so far as any giant column in the middle of a street can be subtle).
The thing I find bizarre about this whole episode is the way Dublin Corporation found it necessary to have a ‘monument’ at all. They didn’t even know what they wanted to celebrate, as shown by the fact that the competitors not only had to design a form, but they also had to come up with something to celebrate with the form – in the case of the winners a celebration of the Irish Diaspora.
I would have thought that monuments usually were built when there was an overwhelming need to comemorate something, this need taking shape in the form of a built monument. It seems sort of strange that this is reversed, and Irish people are casting about for something to celebrate.
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I think that this was a fantastic idea, more creative and imaginitive than the needle. However, the old Pillar was an absolute monstrosity, stumpy and much too wide at the base to be elegant. this scheme added even more width, and looked badly out of proportion, especially in the perspective sketches. As such, I believe that the needle is a stunningly elegant proposal, beautiful in it’s simplicity. I can’t wait to see it finished.
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Here’s some vintage footage of the previous monument on this site:
http://indigo.ie/~grabe/movies/Nelson.mov -
http://indigo.ie/~grabe/movies/Nelson.mov
Movie Footage -
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I suppose that it is unnecessaaty to remind Dubliners that the Needle could be considered as a Testimonial rather than a Monument, on the lines of Wellington’s Testimonial in the Park. Anyway the word Monument means ‘to remember’ and usually of the dead, but the replacement of the word ‘Monument’ by ‘Testimonial’ could refer to the living Diaspora, just as the Wellington one did – built in the lifetime of the Duke.
Then Dublin could have two Testimonials! Let’s celebrate our living relatives rather than the dead ones.
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