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Abstract The Art of Memory: Public Memorials Scarlett Olson In ancient times, memorials were constructed to commemorate victories in battle or to pay homage to kings and gods. Now, however, memorials focus more on the events of war and those who died fighting for their country. They are spaces designed to create an atmosphere of quiet reflection to allow us to honor the dead and to serve as a reminder of the consequences of our actions. In this paper, I will analyze public memorials, specifically the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, using the concept of collective memory. The idea of collective memory was first formulated by Maurice Halbwachs in the early twentieth century, and it is at its core the belief that a group can share the same memories regarding specific events. The ideas and theories of collective memory, when applied to the analysis of memorial, can provide a new framework for exploring the form, content, effect, and affect of these structures. Collective memory can be manipulated by society and the creation of specific memorials is one very effective way to influence public opinion about certain historical events.
ContributorsOlson, Scarlett (Author) / Codell, Julie (Thesis director) / Hoffman, Daniel (Committee member) / Pedersen, Lindsey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2005-05
Description
By focusing on photojournalists for LIFE and Ladies’ Home Journal, I investigate mental health care in state institutions located in America during the Great Depression and World War II immediately prior to the great deinstitutionalization that began in the 1950s. Relying upon scholars of medical humanities, social theory, disability studies, feminist studies, the history of psychiatry, and the history of art, I consider the iconography used to represent mental illness in photography during the first half of the twentieth century to explore the ways mentally ill individuals were presented as disordered and lacking humanity. I explore the didactic nature of both photography and film, emphasizing how the artists and directors imbued their mediums with medical credibility and authority. The photographs of Alfred Eisenstaedt, Jerry Cooke, and Esther Bubley from the 1930-40s reveal the state of mental health care in America during the Great Depression and World War II. I will investigate the stereotypes seen in representations of mental illness in photographs and how these depictions shaped and were in dialogue with popular films like Spellbound (1945), The Snake Pit (1948), The Three Faces of Eve (1957), and Marnie (1964). As a point of contrast to the images and films representing mental illness, I examine depictions of healthy people in mental health clinics during this time. Finally, I offer four examples of public, contemporary art, including House for a Gordian Knot (2013), Bloom (2013), 1000 Shadows (2013), and Faces of Mental Health Recovery (2013), that explore mental illness to illustrate the enduring legacy of the iconography and stereotypes represented in the photography and films explored in the first half of this dissertation.
ContributorsTaggart, Vriean Diether (Author) / Fahlman, Betsy (Thesis advisor) / Codell, Julie (Committee member) / Lussier, Mark (Committee member) / Moore, Sarah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019