These works are intricately connected with issues of identity, history and place. How do context and identity impact the form and meaning of these artistic projects?
While context and identity strictly define the meaning of these pieces, the form varies and is not tied down to the former and latter. To begin with, meaning in this response refers to the meaning that the artist originally created and intended with, and form refers to the physical form or design of the project. So in the terms defined, meaning is therefore inherently, closely, linked with the context and identity of these projects, due to the major idea that all three of the monuments were made in response and directly related to historical contexts and contemporary identity issues. The Bracero Monument was made with the historical context of the bracero migrant workers, and the monument is tied to the current identity politics in play around Mexican nationals in the U.S. and on a larger scale with Latinx identity in the U.S. The same goes for the Rumors of War monument and its historical ties to slavery and modern Black identity in the U.S. The Fons Americanus monument is slightly different, but still fits this framework as the identity and context is meant on a larger and broader scale than the other two projects, yet it still addresses similar issues and still derives meaning from similar identity conflicts.
While the meaning is intrinsically tied to context and identity, it is much more loose with the form as all three of the projects address this in varying ways. The Bracero Monument is an example where form is not inherently tied to context and meaning, as the project is extremely realist and does not break from this. It is a monument of a Bracero worker with their family, and there is no abstraction to be made as the form is literally a realist depiction of this. Rumors of War toys with form as a means to show identity and context, as the design of the monument is in style with that of several Robert E Lee monuments, and also in a style inherent with monuments of pre and during Civil War figures. So with historical context tied to that, the abstraction on current identity is made with the subject riding the horse being an African American man in modern clothing. In terms of the Fons Americanus, it makes use of historical context and identity the most in relation to form as the piece features a tiered story on the transatlantic slave trade in relation to public structures, this being that it is in the style of the Queen Victoria Memorial. This use of form calls a greater question towards neoclassical structures found in Britain, and how identity can be seen in something that is so often ignored.
While context and identity strictly define the meaning of these pieces, the form varies and is not tied down to the former and latter. To begin with, meaning in this response refers to the meaning that the artist originally created and intended with, and form refers to the physical form or design of the project. So in the terms defined, meaning is therefore inherently, closely, linked with the context and identity of these projects, due to the major idea that all three of the monuments were made in response and directly related to historical contexts and contemporary identity issues. The Bracero Monument was made with the historical context of the bracero migrant workers, and the monument is tied to the current identity politics in play around Mexican nationals in the U.S. and on a larger scale with Latinx identity in the U.S. The same goes for the Rumors of War monument and its historical ties to slavery and modern Black identity in the U.S. The Fons Americanus monument is slightly different, but still fits this framework as the identity and context is meant on a larger and broader scale than the other two projects, yet it still addresses similar issues and still derives meaning from similar identity conflicts.
While the meaning is intrinsically tied to context and identity, it is much more loose with the form as all three of the projects address this in varying ways. The Bracero Monument is an example where form is not inherently tied to context and meaning, as the project is extremely realist and does not break from this. It is a monument of a Bracero worker with their family, and there is no abstraction to be made as the form is literally a realist depiction of this. Rumors of War toys with form as a means to show identity and context, as the design of the monument is in style with that of several Robert E Lee monuments, and also in a style inherent with monuments of pre and during Civil War figures. So with historical context tied to that, the abstraction on current identity is made with the subject riding the horse being an African American man in modern clothing. In terms of the Fons Americanus, it makes use of historical context and identity the most in relation to form as the piece features a tiered story on the transatlantic slave trade in relation to public structures, this being that it is in the style of the Queen Victoria Memorial. This use of form calls a greater question towards neoclassical structures found in Britain, and how identity can be seen in something that is so often ignored.
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