A rendering of architect Joe Weishaar’s park design with Sabin Howard’s bronze relief sculpture for the National World War I Memorial, in July 2018, to be sited in Pershing Park, in Washington, D.C. (World War I Memorial Design Team)

National WWI Memorial Design Team Gets Green Light

By Milene Fernandez
via the Epoch Times web site

WASHINGTON—The war that did not end all wars, World War I, marked a dramatic turning point in history. It changed everything, including art. Collective trauma gave way to irony, cynicism, sarcasm, a taste for the absurd, and nihilistic disillusionment. The moral fabric of society and how it translated into art started to deteriorate at an alarming pace, until it reached the extreme where anything goes, as seen in some contemporary art today.

Now, 100 years after World War I ended, we begin to see glimmers of art that is more considerate, ennobling, trustworthy, respectful, and with a rational sensibility that is uplifting, even depicting subject matter that delves into the tragic nature of humanity.

On June 19, the design concept for a new National World War I Memorial—embodying all of such positive qualities—was unanimously endorsed by the federal aesthetic guardians of Washington, D.C., the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA). The approval marked a breakthrough not only for the World War I monument to be realized, but also for the public presence of figurative art on the world stage.

Surprisingly, Washington does not have a memorial for honoring the sacrifice and victory of the American doughboys. Pershing Park, built in 1981, has the commemorative sculpture “John J. Pershing, General of the Armies,” but nothing on a scale that would truly honor the 4.7 million Americans who served and over 116,000 who were killed in World War I.

An act of Congress in 2013 created the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission (WW1CC) for planning and developing the memorial. The 12 members of the commission were appointed by former President Barack Obama, leaders of the Senate, the House of Representatives, as well as the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the National World War I Museum and Memorial. All five former living presidents are serving on the commission as honorary chairmen.

Read the entire article on the Epoch Times web site here:

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