Monuments out of mountains | Page 1 | Seekers of Actual Truth | Guild Forums

Ryoruki

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Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:36 am

So recently i visited Stone Mountain, which has an amazing carving on it of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis. It's larger than Mt. Rushmore! O.o which is strange since from far away it looks very small. However i was thinking not only of how an amazing feat this was of human skill and a testament to the people who thought of and created it. But also about how they had basically defaced a beautiful mountain.

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What do ya'll think? Should we sacrifice natural occurances for art and commemoration? or has the "leave things the way you found them so the next person can enjoy it as well" mentality just doesn't apply to this?

technically a family owned the mountain and gave it to the daughters of the confederate to make this relief, but that seems rather odd.

Discuss-
Stone Mountain
Monuments made out of natural occurances (mountains, cliffs etc)
anything else you want?

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2007 2:14 pm

I think that as long as it doens't ruin the overall beauty of the area than I would be okay.

There's one area where I live that a hill that people would climb to look out over the city and what did they do? Razed it and built a shopping complex displacing the ground hogs that lived there that we enjoyed seeing in the summer. I don't agree with that.

I can't think of anything in Canada that looks like that. Up here we have idiots that stop and spray paint the sides of cliffs with things like 'I heart (insert name)' that just ruins the view. stare

good_grief
Crew

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Larmyth

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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 1:59 pm

good_grief

I think that as long as it doens't ruin the overall beauty of the area than I would be okay.

I can't think of anything in Canada that looks like that. Up here we have idiots that stop and spray paint the sides of cliffs with things like 'I heart (insert name)' that just ruins the view. stare

Some would state that carving an image into the face of nature would be graffiti just on a larger scale.
I think it just depends on your preference of art, nature as is, or recognition of famous people/acts.
I'm sure there are post for the act of carving the mountain, and in consideration, a petition to stop it. One just needs to become active about it if you really care about it, rather than letting it come to you.

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:52 pm

personally i don't mind the monument too much since it's rather nice, and very awe inspiring. However whenever you do somehting that permenant the people involved should ask themselves about how future generations will regard it.

Yes this is a momument to Generals in the war that fought on the losing side. However they still had morals and values and such. But it's also a monument to the people who envisoned and built it. Will future generatuons see this and go "wow what an achievement" or will they go "oh a carving on a rock"

i guess it's more of a teaching the future to appreciate the past. ^ ^;;;

however they've done a pretty good job making the area family friendly and i saw lots of families around =3 they also had other historical things around such as a plantation and farm as well as a museum ^ ^ for a history lover like me it was lots of fun ^ ^

Ryoruki

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good_grief
Crew

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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 10:06 am

From what I see in the picture that Ryo posted the carving does not take away from the overall appearance of the area. The area has not been completely clear cut of the natural forest. It also sounds like a teaching tool so that future generations do not forget what happened. Many ancient carvings were on a grand scale and may have destroyed the surrounding nature but in return we have received beautiful glimpses into the past that cannot be recreated. It is a double edged sword: do we sacrifice nature to create monuments to our achievements or do we leave it to memory in hopes of future generations remembering.

As for what happened in my area concerning the hill that was razed, I signed many petitions to stop the construction but alas and sadly the big name corporate machine moved on and over us. There is also a large fine and possible jail time if you are caught spray painting anything along the highways.

@Ryo: history is my passion too!

Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 9:47 am

Why carve into the sides of mountains? Really. In ancient times, there was no real set method for keeping records, and although they can be lost or destroyed, we do enough. Besides, our civilazation has done enough to nature without the artwork to leave our mark. You want to do art, do it on a canvas or the side of a building if you want a grander scale. Leave mother nature alone.

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