Dezzy Dodd || TRAGIC DESIGN: Exploration of Memorialization || Senior Thesis

8/3/2019 Dezzy Dodd || TRAGIC DESIGN: Exploration of Memorialization || Senior Thesis

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Dezarae DoddSenior Thesis

Fall 2011

TRAGIC DESIGN:

Exploration of Memorialization


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TRAGIC DESIGN: Exploration of Memorialization

Special thanks to my extraordinary amily or not only alwayssupporting me but being a shoulder I can lean on when I needa boost. Also, special thanks to my best riend Katie Curtiss orkeeping me upbeat and positive and reminding me o my veryown talents. Finally, a special thanks to Tony Datillo or all hishelp and ne words o wisdom, as well as the rest o the classor their un and outgoing personalities and their astsonishingability to keep the class rereshingly un and exciting to balanceout all o the research!


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TRAGIC DESIGN: Exploration of Memorialization Dezzy Dodd | Senior Thesis | 7

not to eel the pain and attempt to negotiate out o theirhurt. Their vulnerability has them constantly questioningwhat they could have changed to avoid this rom happening.Religious liestyles or upbringings play a large part in theirbargaining with a higher spirit. Other times, their liestylesprohibit them rom knowing who to turn to and theybegin bargaining with themselves. Examples o the types obargaining being done is God, I promise Ill never do [this orthat] again i you allow me to wake up and or this all have beena dream or sel proclaimed methods o the same general oerthis to receive that deal.

The grie cycles ourth stage is depression. Ater everythingtheyve gone through denial, anger, bargaining they wakeup to the act that the tragedy has actually occurred and theyneed to ace it. Depression leaves empty eelings, the deepesto grie, and an overwhelming eeling o withdrawal rom lie.Oten, a person eels let in a og o intense sadness (II). Lookingtowards the end, they see only more pain and depression to lookorward to. They oten stay in this stage the longest because itseasier to just accept that its happened and mourn the loss, thanto pull themselves up and look toward moving on.

Finally, ater acing the hardships o denial, anger,bargaining and depression, the person enters a eeling oacceptance and makes that step toward moving on. They appearto have a notion o being alright or ok and can accept thereality o their current loss and move onto realization that itspermanent. Finally, theyre able to adhere to their needs omoving on, changing, growing as people and evolving.They

are nally ready to ace head-on what has happened and create

a way or themselves to live their lives to the ullest.Determining the ve stages o grie has not only helped

people understand the phases that theyre going through buthas also helped designers shape their work into an eectivepiece with emotional value or its audience. In March 2003, inthe height o the repercussions o the September 11th attacks,the American Red Cross, teaming with The Nerve Agency inPortland, OR, launched a new ad campaign that was meant toease the ear that people were eeling and to restore Americansaith in their institutions, even philanthropic ones.By utilizing how Americans elt about the attacks, they tapped

into the stage o anger that is most commonly expressed inreaction to Americans ear o being attacked and not havingcontrol over their situation. They utilized this ear by creatinga campaign with a Pay It Forward message that combinedthe eorts o the people to help be prepared in the uture, thusallowing them more control over their situation in the evento a uture national tragedy. Furthermore, they tapped into thestage o acceptance by giving Americans chance to refect onwhat had occurred with the attacks and create an opportunityor combining in a community and helping to move orwardwith their lives by bettering and growing as people.

The ve stages o grie have been used by designers inmany dierent orms such print ads, magazines or postcards,commercials, radio ads, websites, photography, or even politicalcartoons. Tragedy has been used so oten as a way to relate topeoples emotions that it has developed into its own identity.Through dierent symbols, phrases, and other iconic elements,

we relate to the identity o tragedy.

One symbol commonly used or tragedy is a dove. It ismeant to symbolize the idea o being the Messenger to Godand give the overwhelming eeling o peace and tranquilityin the tragic moments. Recently, on September 11, 2011,Holden, Massachusetts held a commemoration ceremony orthe 10th anniversary o the 9/11 attacks. Over ve hundredresidents signed their name and let their peaceul thoughtson prayers on paper doves that were placed on paint sticks anddisplayed on a church lawn within their community (see gure1). With over ve hundred paper doves already in place, thecommunity released white doves as a symbol o the peace that

the ceremony represented.Another symbol associated with tragedy and thegrieving process is vines. Vines are commonly used because inGreek Mythology, they represented immortality. Vines allowloved ones to eel like, even i their deceased member has letthis Earth, they live immortality in another place or theirpersonality parallels immortally in their heart.

Another example o symbolism portrays a sense oNationalism, the fag. Nationalism is dened as havingdevotion and loyalty to ones own nation or country. Oten inpublic tragedies, like 9/11, fags represent a large portion othe symbolism because they want death to relate back to theidea o Nationalism to overcome the tragedy caused by anothernation. Its also very common with soldiers or inantry menbecause they have bravely ought or their country and thusare honored with the fag. Further symbols used in reerence toNationalism and the military are combat boots, rife and even

combat helmets.

Other commonly used symbols are anything withregard to religious aliation and spirituality. This takesinto account symbols such as the Lamb o God, angels, andcrosses. One such cross can be ound at the Mount SoledadVeterans Memorial in the La Jolla area o San Diego,Caliornia (see gure 2). Common themes not only give theoverall religious eel, but associate the idea that within thesesymbols, there is meaning in reerence to the deaths. The ideais that a person is closer to God and closer to his presence.

Symbolism in public tragedy is important because itleads to the idea o memorialization and their connection to

symbols. Memorialization is dened as a way to commemorateor to present a memorial. In order to present this memorial inan emotionally appealing way and grab the viewers attention,designers use symbols.

Memorials are oten used in public tragedy settings asa way to move on, to help people overcome, to allow peopleto remember the past but ultimately to help people lookahead to the uture and leave the tragedy behind. Memorialsevoke specic eelings within an audience. Each memorialocuses on specic eelings that it would like to captivate.Those eelings are directly refected upon the ve stages ogrie as stated by Elisabeth Kbler-Ross and David Kessler.

This paper will attempt to identiy the dierent stages othe Kbler-Ross grie scale to which various popular memorialsare targeted. The memorials are those that have stemmed rompublic tragedy and have had some sort o controversy behindthem which is common in memorials that target specic

eelings. As stated beore in this paper, people must go through


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all stages o grie in order to completely overcome but not allpeople will be in the same stages at the same time.

The rst memorial that this paper will analyze is theVietnam Veterans Memorial(see gure 3). This Memorial was designed by an undergraduateat Yale University, Maya Ying Lin. Lin was born o Chinesedescent in Athens, Ohio in 1959. Her parents fed rom Chinain 1949 when ruler Mao-Tse-Tung took control. She is anAmerican citizen. She consulted with Cooper-Lecky Partnershipon the construction o the Memorial.

Etched into the black stone walls are names o those that

lost their lives in the war. The Memorial houses 58,272 names,including approximately 1,200 that are listed as missing romthe war. Each wall is 246.75 eet long and comprised o 70dierent inscribed granite panels. The names are listed withsymbols next to them or whether or not they were conrmeddead and missing/whereabouts unknown.

This Memorial was surrounded with controversy overthe idea o a Chinese woman designing a memorial piecehaving to do with the Vietnam War. Lin pointed out that thecontroversy was insensitive to those Americans o Asian decentwho were aected by the war. Also, since the memorial wasplaced hal underground and was black in color, there was a loto disapproval over the idea that it was designed to represent ablack scar and that it was more like a political statement aboutthe war.Due to the devastating memories o the war and the controversysurrounding the memorial, one can better understand how the

memorial pinpoints some o the main stages o the grie cycle.

Anger is one o the obvious stages pinpointed, as the wall pointsout those who have died or are lost in battle. It uses the deepengraved names to bring back the memory o the loss, duringa war, where an enemy was present. This causes the viewer toaim the loss at that enemy and place blame. More so thananger, however, the memorial ocuses on the acceptance thatall o these people have lost their lives and their memory liveson through this wall. Those who have grieved over the nameson these walls have accepted that the death o their loved oneshave occurred and it now stands as a memory or their loss. Thedesign is a strong block that stands as an altar or memory and

a place or healing. The memorial utilizes its design to hit eacho the stages in order to evoke the eelings rom those mourningtheir loss or remembering it.

The second memorial that this paper will analyze is theIwo Jima Memorial (see gure 4). The memorial symbolizesthe Battle o Iwo Jima (February 19-March 26, 1945) wherethe United States ought and captured the island o Iwo Jimarom the Empire o Japan. It was the only battle where the UScasualties exceeded the Japanese casualties.

The photo taken by a news photographer, Joe Rosenthal,was what inspired sculptor Felix de Weldon. Rosenthalsphotograph won a Pulitzer Prize and became a symbol o thewar in the Pacic. Soon ater, the US Government picked it upand began using it to promote war eorts and the purchasingo war bonds. Felix de Weldon created a lie size model o thephotograph. Out o the six soldiers that are show in the originalphotograph, only three survived the war.

The memorial gures stand at 32 t. tall and are raising

a 60t high fagpole that is placed on the 10 t. high base. Theinscriptions on the 10t base are those o all the major MarineCorps engagements. The Memorial is located near Arlingtoncemetery by the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

The Memorial o Iwo Jima targets the stage o bargainingby using the current monument to bargain with the utureo wars. It uses the idea o bargaining because its almost areminder that, even though there was a war and there were lotso casualties, the war is over; the worst has already happened.Through this bargaining stage, the Iwo Jima memorial pushesits viewer into the second target o the grie cycle, acceptance.

In creating this memorial, Felix de Weldon allowed thoseseeing it to be able to remember the loss and pain that wereassociated and move on to look orward to the uture. They areadvancing past the stage o anger and depression over their lossand creating a remembrance o those that have died while stillcelebrating the survivors that came out o Iwo Jima.

The third memorial that this paper will aim to analyzeis the Tomb o the Unknown Soldier (see gure 5). This tombwas drawn up by William Penn in 1682 and placed withinWashington Square. It also held up as the burial grounds orthousands o soldiers who died in Philadelphia during thewar, as well as those who died rom the 1793 Yellow Feverepidemic. In 1825, in honor o George Washington, the squarewas renamed. Finally in 1954, the Square Planning Committeedecided to erect the memorial that honored both Washingtonand the Unknown Soldier rom the Revolutionary War.

The memorial consists o a statue o George Washington

placed upon the tomb o the Unknown Soldier. The writing

FREEDOM IS A LIGHT FOR WHICH MANY MEN HAVEDIED IN DARKNESS is placed on top o the wall directlybehind Washington as well as other text on either side o him.Directly in ront o the tomb is a ring bed o re. Lit yearround, this stands as an honorary portion o the memorial. Thismemorial uses the stage o acceptance to allow the viewer toremember the past while having moved on rom the loss o theUnknown Soldier. This is more o a metaphorical remembranceo all o the soldiers have lost their lives whether identied ornot. The memorial allows the viewer the ability to rememberthe heroic soldiers who have ought, as well as those who were

unortunate to die rom the Yellow Fever. It ocuses as a way toremember the past but to overcome by moving onto the uture.all stages o grie in order to completely overcome but

not all people will be in the same stages at the same time.The rst memorial that this paper will analyze is the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial (see gure 3). This Memorial wasdesigned by an undergraduate at Yale University, Maya YingLin. Lin was born o Chinese descent in Athens, Ohio in 1959.Her parents fed rom China in 1949 when ruler Mao-Tse-Tungtook control. She is an American citizen. She consulted withCooper-Lecky Partnership on the construction o the Memorial.

Etched into the black stone walls are names o those thatlost their lives in the war. The Memorial houses 58,272 names,including approximately 1,200 that are listed as missing romthe war. Each wall is 246.75 eet long and comprised o 70dierent inscribed granite panels. The names are listed withsymbols next to them or whether or not they were conrmed

dead and missing/whereabouts unknown.


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This Memorial was surrounded with controversy over the ideao a Chinese woman designing a memorial piece having to dowith the Vietnam War. Lin pointed out that the controversywas insensitive to those Americans o Asian decent who wereaected by the war. Also, since the memorial was placedhal underground and was black in color, there was a lot odisapproval over the idea that it was designed to represent ablack scar and that it was more like a political statement aboutthe war.Due to the devastating memories o the war and the controversysurrounding the memorial, one can better understand how the

memorial pinpoints some o the main stages o the grie cycle.Anger is one o the obvious stages pinpointed, as the wall pointsout those who have died or are lost in battle. It uses the deepengraved names to bring back the memory o the loss, duringa war, where an enemy was present. This causes the viewer toaim the loss at that enemy and place blame. More so thananger, however, the memorial ocuses on the acceptance thatall o these people have lost their lives and their memory liveson through this wall. Those who have grieved over the nameson these walls have accepted that the death o their loved oneshave occurred and it now stands as a memory or their loss. Thedesign is a strong block that stands as an altar or memory anda place or healing. The memorial utilizes its design to hit eacho the stages in order to evo ke the eelings rom those mourningtheir loss or remembering it.

The second memorial that this paper will analyze is theIwo Jima Memorial (see gure 4). The memorial symbolizes

the Battle o Iwo Jima (February 19-March 26, 1945) where

the United States ought and captured the island o Iwo Jimarom the Empire o Japan. It was the only battle where the UScasualties exceeded the Japanese casualties.

The photo taken by a news photographer, Joe Rosenthal,was what inspired sculptor Felix de Weldon. Rosenthalsphotograph won a Pulitzer Prize and became a symbol o thewar in the Pacic. Soon ater, the US Government picked it upand began using it to promote war eorts and the purchasingo war bonds. Felix de Weldon created a lie size model o thephotograph. Out o the six soldiers that are show in the originalphotograph, only three survived the war.

The memorial gures stand at 32 t. tall and are raisinga 60t high fagpole that is placed on the 10 t. high base. Theinscriptions on the 10t base are those o all the major MarineCorps engagements. The Memorial is located near Arlingtoncemetery by the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

The Memorial o Iwo Jima targets the stage o bargainingby using the current monument to bargain with the utureo wars. It uses the idea o bargaining because its almost areminder that, even though there was a war and there were lotso casualties, the war is over; the worst has already happened.Through this bargaining stage, the Iwo Jima memorial pushesits viewer into the second target o the grie cycle, acceptance.In creating this memorial, Felix de Weldon allowed thoseseeing it to be able to remember the loss and pain that wereassociated and move on to look orward to the uture. They areadvancing past the stage o anger and depression over their lossand creating a remembrance o those that have died while still

celebrating the survivors that came out o Iwo Jima.

The third memorial that this paper will aim to analyze isthe Tomb o the Unknown Soldier (see gure 5). This tombwas drawn up by William Penn in 1682 and placed withinWashington Square. It also held up as the burial grounds orthousands o soldiers who died in Philadelphia during thewar, as well as those who died rom the 1793 Yellow Feverepidemic. In 1825, in honor o George Washington, the squarewas renamed. Finally in 1954, the Square Planning Committeedecided to erect the memorial that honored both Washingtonand the Unknown Soldier rom the Revolutionary War.

The memorial consists o a statue o George Washington

placed upon the tomb o the Unknown Soldier. The writingFREEDOM IS A LIGHT FOR WHICH MANY MEN HAVEDIED IN DARKNESS is placed on top o the wall directlybehind Washington as well as other text on either side o him.Directly in ront o the tomb is a ring bed o re. Lit yearround, this stands as an honorary portion o the memorial. Thismemorial uses the stage o acceptance to allow the viewer toremember the past while having moved on rom the loss o theUnknown Soldier. This is more o a metaphorical remembranceo all o the soldiers have lost their lives whether identied ornot. The memorial allows the viewer the ability to rememberthe heroic soldiers who have ought, as well as those who wereunortunate to die rom the Yellow Fever. It ocuses as a way toremember the past but to overcome by moving onto the uture.

The nal memorial that I chose to analyze is the memorialo Ocer Tim Brenton. This is an example o a public heroicgures death that resulted in memorialization. In this tragic

event, the Seattle Police Ocer, Tim Brenton, was shot in his

squad car with partner Brit Sweeney while parked on the cornero 29th Ave and East Yesler Way. The ellow ocer escaped withonly minor wounds but Brenton was killed instantaneously.The memorial (see gure 6) is that o a police badge with theocers badge number etched into the stone. There is a largeslab missing rom the badge, which is supposed to representthe heartbreak that the community and the amily has elt romthe loss. Surrounding the memorial, are words indicating themany important roles that Brenton played in the lives o others,including Son, Father, Loyal, Brave, and many others(see gure 7). The memorial was unded and created by the

Leschi Community and dedicated on the one-year anniversaryo the death.Upon viewing this memorial, the rst thing that the

audience experiences is the impact o the story behind the allenocers death. He was serving his city and was gunned downand his lie was taken rom him, his amily, and his riends andpeers, in what seemed like a random act o terrorism. The storybuilds up anger in the viewer because it shows the madness andlack o reason behind the tragedy. Why was this ocer chosen?Why was he the one to get shot? This memorial specicallytargeted the anger stage o the grie cycle.

The second stage that this memorial targets is theacceptance stage. It allows the viewer to understand what hashappened to the ocer. In learning the story and seeing whatthe community has created or him, the memorial causes youto relive the experience and the loss but delight in the act thatBrenton was loved and is still remembered.


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Through the analysis o these memorials, there is a clearconnection between the stages o grie and the building oa memorial. Whether it be to help a viewer remember whathappened, honor those who have allen, or relive a tragedy,these memorials aim to help the viewer come to the stage oacceptance and move on with their lives, all while keepingthe memory alive in their heart. It also shows that in order toovercome the tragedy o the loss, you must relive the memoriesand understand what may come o the situation. The analysiso the ve stages o grie has not only helped people understandthe phases that theyre going through but also helped shape the

work o designers into an emotionally eective pieces.


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Dezzy Dodd | Senior Thesis | 15

FIGURE2

David Maung.Priests Express Gratitude to Veterans or Teir Service | St. Louis Review. St. Louis Review. 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 15Nov. 2011.

RAGIC DESIGN: Exploration o Memorialization

Castro, Daniel, Holden Remembers 9/11 with Service, Dove Release Te Daily Holden. 11 Sept. 2011. Web. 17 Oct. 2011.

FIGURE1


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FIGURE4

Iwo Jima. BikerDotCom. Web. 17 Nov. 2011


Te Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Vietnam Vet And Disability Advocate o Be Added o Memorial Wall. Here& Now. Bostons NPR News Station, 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.

FIGURE3


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FIGURE6

Members o the Brenton Family leaving fowers on the memorial site. Central Disrict News.Seattle, WA. 31 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.


Ken Tomas, Te omb o the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier in Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 22 Sept. 2007

FIGURE5


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Dezzy Dodd | Senior Thesis | 21RAGIC DESIGN: Exploration o Memorialization

im Brenton Memorial Central District News. Seattle, WA. 31 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

FIGURE7


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Dezzy Dodd | Senior Thesis | 23WORKS CITED

I.Gordon, Jack D., and Kenneth J. Doka. Living with Grie:Coping with Public Tragedy .Abingdon: Brunner-Routl edge,2003. Print.

II.Kbler-Ross, Elisabeth, and David Kessler. The Five Stageso Grie Elisabeth Kbler-Ross & David Kessler | Grie.com ~ David Kessler. Grie.com - Because Love NeverDies... 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011.

.

III.Kbler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. [New York]:Macmillan, 1969. Print.


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Vietnam Vet And Disability Advocate To Be Added ToMemorial Wall. Here & Now. Bostons NPR News Station,2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. .

The Wall - USA. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial. NationalPark Service, 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. .

Watkins, Barbara. Priests Express Gratitude to Veteransor Their Service | St. Louis Review. St. Louis Review. 9

Nov. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brand Advertising: Together We Prepare AdvertisingCampaign. Advertising Educational Foundation - AEF.American Red Cross & The Nerve Agency, 2004. Web. 15Oct. 2011. .

Castro, Daniel. Holden Remembers 9/11 with Service,Dove Release. The Daily Holden. 11 Sept. 2011. Web. 17Oct. 2011. .

Doka, Kenneth J. What Makes a Tragedy Public. Home(Hospice Foundation o America). 2003. Web. 20 Oct. 2011..

Fucoloro, Tom. Ocer Brenton Memorial SpringCleanup Saturday. Central District News. 22 Apr. 2011.Web. 22 Nov. 2011. .

Gordon, Jack D., and Kenneth J. Doka. Living with Grie:Coping with Public Tragedy. Abingdon: Brunner-Routledge,2003. Print.

Green, Sara, and Steve Miletich. Slain Seattle PoliceOcer Timothy Brenton Mourned by Community andColleagues. Seattle Times Newspaper. 7 Nov. 2009. Web.

22 Nov. 2011. .

Iwo Jima. BikerDotCom. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. .

Kbler-Ross, Elisabeth, and David Kessler. The Five Stageso Grie - Elisabeth Kbler-Ross & David Kessler Grie.com- Because Love Never Dies... 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011..

Kbler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. [New York]:Macmillan, 1969. Print.

The Kbler-Ross Grie Cycle. ChangingMinds.org. Web. 15Nov. 2011. .

Meyer, Peter, Bill Eppridge, and Naomi Cutner. The Wall:a Day at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. New York: St.Martins, 1993. Print.

OBrien, Cyril J. Iwo Jima: A Remembrance. Military.com. Web. 14 Nov. 2011. .

Tomb o the Unknown Soldier. USHistory.org. 2011. Web.17 Nov. 2011. .


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