Cult of Monuments, Essay Example

The main thesis of the article presents the argument that monuments should be considered in regards to not only their artistic or aesthetic value, but also in their historic value.  The author support this thesis through a discussion of the definition of monuments and the circumstances under which they can be considered as such.  Through these arguments, the author claims that there is a fundamental difference between monuments that are intentional and those that are unintentional and, in understanding this difference, a more definitive idea of what a monument is can be established.  The author uses examples such as historic documents and texts as well as objects constructed for commemorative purposes in order to signify the differences between these basic terms.  In doing so, the author is able to better identify the idea of a monument and its underlying values.

The main thesis of the argument is that not all monuments are purposefully erected as such.  In many cases, there are values projected onto these constructions that were not originally intended, such as when a piece of architecture or work of art attain a significant historical importance.  For this reason, the author indicates that it is important to understand the difference between the historic and artistic value of the visual objects that are being considered.  While an object that was intended to have artistic value may never be considered valuable among the art community, it might gain some importance due to its historic significance.

The author supports this thesis by discussing difference between intentional and unintentional monuments.  While an intentional monument is just that, a structure or work of art that has been created in order to commemorate a person or event, an unintentional monument can be something simple that nobody ever intended to have any historical or artistic value.  For instance, a ledge describing transactions had only a utilitarian purpose at its creation, however, to modern scholars the information within can help to provide insight into the historical period that the ledger was a part of.  In this sense, the document would be an unintentional historic object.

The author also discusses the differences between values that were placed on objects at the time of their conception and those that are applied from the present onto the past.  In regards to historical, or commemorative value, what is considered important to modern scholars of historic pieces, value lies in age, historical importance, and the intentional commemorative function of the objects.  In the case of values that were important to the past, their value lies in ideas such as their usefulness and artistic or aesthetic properties.

One of the most important key concepts that the author discusses is the idea of a monument.  While this may seem to be simple term, in regards to the essay, it takes on a more complex role.  Due to the fact that a monument can be both intentional and unintentional, its significance as a monument is determined as much by how it is viewed by others as well as how it was originally intended to be understood.  In this way, the idea of intentionality is directly linked with the definition of a monument.  However, an object can be a monument whether it was done so intentionally or not.  This presents the essential argument that the author is trying to make in distinguishing the idea of a monument between being purposeful and accidental.