| Abstrakt: |
In 'On Forgiveness,' Jacques Derrida describes proliferating scenes of national repentance as signifying 'a "universal urgency" of memory.' Memory and repentance are often inscribed architecturally in the form of monuments and memorials. Arthur Danto distinguishes between the two when he suggests that '[w]e erect monuments so that we shall always remember, and build memorials so that we shall never forget.'2 For Danto, 'monuments commemorate the memorable and embody the myths of beginnings' while 'memorials ritualize remembrance and mark the reality of ends.'3 By considering Berlin's Neue Wache and its Holocaust Memorial, as well as Hiroshima's Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims, I examine the nuances distinguishing the meaning of monuments and memorials. I also explore the notion of engaging forgiveness through memorial architecture, and whether it is possible to invite forgiveness at a site where the need to honour victims of war is paramount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
