Gothamist: African Burial Ground Memorial Controversy

Sean

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 20:10:43 -0500

The design is not representational of an african memorial. first of all the competition(who holds a competition for a burial ground!) should have been made to include an african designer/artist. Then it may have had more credibility within the community it tries to speak to. But it would have had more integrity if it was left green and open or if original african grave sites were adopted. I dont know anything about them but they dont use polished granite. How can a city allow an architect to design a memorial that blows a budget and also negates the desire of the ancestors for whom it is made. It will become a memorial to the mistake it makes. Hopefully the city can learn from this and take these lessons to ground zero. I would reccomend a center off site that can be more extensive and more subtle.

hijiki

Mon, 02 May 2005 11:07:32 -0500

it looks like it could have come from the same artist who gave us the union square building art. contrived, tacky and trite.

evamn

Mon, 02 May 2005 09:07:58 -0500

Ewww, and the other one gets an equally bitter ewww for fencing in the site. Doesn't NY have enough fences and bars up? I believe simpler the better, and one with out prison bars. As I recall, Brooklyn’s Fort Green monument for the 5000 plus souls of the British prison ships took about close to a hundred years to come up with a design. Its stately, but I don't think many people realize what it is.

guy

Sat, 30 Apr 2005 16:32:59 -0500

Damn! That's tacky.

Thomas

Sat, 30 Apr 2005 16:02:05 -0500

I agree with those who see this design as overdone. After all, this is an existing gravesite. This design seems like a boon-doggle made for museum-oriented public officials. I feel that the best meorial at a gravesite is something simple, with feeling. This choosen design seems like an over-wrought dish.